Staying Strong
by Marjory Stewart-Baxter
Summary: Jacob and Bella are everything to each other, so what happens when the supernatural invades and turns their lives upside down? Bella is much stronger and less annoying, and even though this isn't an 'anti-vampire' story, it involves a very dark and obsessive Edward. Rated M for language/lemons.
1. Chapter 1

Today was the day I had dreaded for so long.

Not that I usually dreaded the first day of school, it was inevitable, no point in dragging your feet about it. It was my lack of company I was dreading. Jacob and I had been inseparable ever since we were younger. I can't really describe it, other than he just made everything good. I learned to appreciate the rainy days and I didn't hate the cold, I learned to love the forests and the beauty of nature all around me. He gave me the confidence that I had never known I was capable of, and when my world was destroyed the night I lost my father, he picked up the pieces and spent all of his time putting me back together. He was everything to me, and just made life better, all around. It was like he magnified me from what I was, and brought out all the good things that had been hidden beneath the surface. And now here I was facing the first day of my senior year without him. Neither one of us really understood why his father had all of a sudden been so demanding that he go to school there in La Push, but we also didn't see any reason to fight it either. We would still see each other, no big deal. Well, not until I was faced with the prospect of dealing with all these idiots on my own. Not that Jake and I were anti-social, we just had very little tolerance for stupid, which unfortunately ran like water through this school. My first task of the day was to find Angela. Luckily she was looking for me too.

"I really thought I'd see him walking in today with you."

"I wish."

"I can't believe his dad really wouldn't let him come back."

"I guess he wants him to graduate there on the rez with the rest of the tribe. I can kinda see his point. And it's not like we'll never see each other, it's just weird not having him, you know?"

"Oh yeah, I don't know what I would do if Ben got sent away to another school."

"Well, it's a little different when you're talking about Ben. I mean, he's your boyfriend. Jake's just a friend. I'll manage."

"Yeah, ok. Whatever you say Bells."

Luckily the warning bell rang before she could get into how it was such a waste that Jake and I weren't more than friends. Not that I hadn't thought about it a million times already, I just liked to act like she was crazy.

Another drawback to not having Jake around? I was alone with my thoughts. I had been thinking more and more about 'us', and I got the feeling that he had been too. I hated to even think of the stupid, overused cliche of not wanting to ruin our friendship, but it was true. He really was my everything. I trusted him above anyone else, and could never even try to imagine my life without him. If we were to start dating, what are the odds it would end good enough for us to get back to where we are now? On the other hand, if our friendship was this amazing, maybe a romantic relationship would be even more so. I just couldn't get out from under all the 'what-ifs'. I guess there was a small, and I mean incredibly small, chance it wouldn't end at all, but who does that anymore? Especially at such a young age. I can see if you wait until you were thirty, but based on my personal observances, there was very little chance.

Part of me just wanted to say, screw it, let's try it and see what happens. Funny how that little voice sounded so much like Jake. And it isn't that he doesn't take our friendship as serious as I do, he just doesn't pick everything apart like I do. He would have the confidence to not worry about the 'what-ifs' and just enjoy everything in the moment. His way of thinking wasn't without consequences though. Just because it was easy, didn't mean it was right.

All this was a moot point though without talking to him first, and I didn't see me raising this topic anytime soon. I could tell things were changing between us, there seemed to be tension where there wasn't any before. His smiles had started making me feel funny now, and his innocent touches seemed to linger longer. It could be my imagination, but it was so often, and when I wasn't even thinking about it, that I'm convinced I wasn't imagining it all. It sucked not being able to talk to him about this, and ever since Leah fell off the face of the earth, I really didn't talk to anyone else other than Angela, and she was so 'Team Jacob', whatever that means, she wouldn't be able to consider it without bias. So I guess I would just let it simmer in my brain until it either faded away, or exploded into something I couldn't control.

Yep, that sounded about right.

So that's how I wasted the first four hours of my first day, completely lost in thought and going through the motions of syllabus overviews. I was headed to lunch when Angela caught up to me.

"Just wanted to give you a heads up, you may want to steer clear of the lunchroom."

"Why?"

"You and Jake. Well, more like the absence of Jake."

"Seriously?"

"Of course! Did you think no one would notice? These people are vultures for good gossip."

"It's not even that good! He went to a different school, how is that interesting?"

"You know how these people are, if someone gets a haircut, it's news around here."

"Alright, well thanks for the warning. I'll probably hide out in the library. I don't really have the patience to deal with them right now."

Unfortunately avoiding the situation was only temporary. Very temporary. I was bound to have at least one class with the queen of all the vultures, so I came prepared.

"Bella! Where were you at lunch? We looked for you everywhere! Where's Jacob? Did he get kicked out of school? Did he drop out?" Jessica said, all in one breath.

I swear, I truly believe the girl got dumber the more oxygen she took in.

"Yep. He dropped out and joined some biker gang. I haven't heard from him in weeks. He may be dead for all I know." I heard Mike snickering behind me. Jessica's face when from scared, to confusion, to anger in all of three seconds. It was actually pretty impressive. She should look into acting.

"Damn Bella, it was just a question! You don't have to be such a bitch about it." I huffed in exasperation rolling my eyes to the ceiling.

"If I'm such a bitch, then how about you stop asking me about crap that isn't any of your business!" I was a little louder than I meant to be, and I could tell I was close to losing my temper with her, and she really wasn't worth it. I heard a couple laughs from behind me, and a whispered 'fat chance', which earned a snort from me, but neither me nor Jessica spoke the rest of the period, which was fine by me.

Several long hours later I was finally driving home. I was itching to just keep on driving past my house and on to Jacob's, but upon driving up, I saw the familiar VW sitting in my drive. I release the breath I didn't know I'd been holding onto, apparently all day. I slammed the truck into park with the plan of running over to hug him, but he beat me to the punch when he ripped my door open and yanked me into a bear hug. I was giggling and squealing like a little girl as he swung me around. Just being in his arms had the misery of my day melting away.

"God, I missed you." He said into my hair.

"It's just been one day!" I couldn't help but laugh at his over-dramatic admission.

"I don't care, it was one day too long."

"I know what you mean. I missed you like crazy too." He hugged me tighter and then slowly set me back on the ground. I looked up into his eyes as he looked at me, and saw something there, but was unsure of what exactly it was.

"Come on. I'll see if I've got any more cookie dough left." I watched as his eyes went from looking at me _that_ way, to change and brighten as his grin grew. I couldn't help but laugh, the boy was putty when it came to food. Unfortunately, he never had enough patience to wait for cookies to actually bake, so we ended up eating it raw in the living room floor.

"You know, baked cookies are actually really good."

"They take too long. This is edible _now_."

"People actually get salmonella from eating it raw."

"You're so full of crap Swan."

"No I'm not! It's the raw eggs that's in it. Look it up!"

"Speaking of looking up useless knowledge, how was school?"

"Grrrr…"

"That good huh?"

"I did get bumped up to AP bio, so that was pretty good. Sat next to some creep though, I'm hoping I won't have to be his partner all year."

"Creep? What did he do?"

"Nothing, he was just, I don't know, weird. I didn't even talk to him, he just, I don't know, creeped me out. I sat faced away from him the whole period."

"What was his name?"

"I actually don't remember, I haven't seen him around much. Oh, and I talked to Mrs Cope and she's gonna let me work in the library during my lunch period. So I'm super excited about that. I don't have to deal with idiots that push my buttons."

"Oh yeah, I definitely don't miss that. So you avoided everybody today?"

"Well, I kinda lost it with Jessica."

"Really? What happened?" He was grinning at the prospect of me putting the girl in her place.

"I just got sick of her putting her nose in everyone else's business. I mean, is her life so boring that she needs to get her spice from everyone around her? She asked if you had dropped out or been kicked out, and I told her you had joined a biker gang….."

He was rolling on the floor laughing as I told him the story I had made up to her, which made me start laughing at him.

"Oh my gosh, that is hilarious! Oh man, what did she say? Did she believe you?"

"I think she did at first, then she got mad, and I yelled at her for calling me a bitch, an-"

"Woah. She called you a what?" He suddenly stopped and sat up, and got very serious.

"Oh please. It's Jessica, would do you expect?" Jake clenched his jaw a couple times. "Aw Jake, come on. Who cares about her? I certainly don't, and from what I remember, you don't either." I laid my hand on his shoulder and felt him relax.

"Sorry." He breathed out. "I just really... anyway, what else."

"That was about it. I pretty much just talked to Ben and Angela. What about you? How's school on the rez?"

Once I got Jacob talking about his day, things got back to normal. I still thought it was a little weird how angry Jake seemed to get about Jessica, I mean, it was _Jessica_. The only thing I could think of was that maybe he was stressed in school. We compared syllabuses and found that for the most part, we would be working on the same things around the same time, so we could help each other to study. I made us dinner and he left about ten. That was another thing I didn't like about him not going to school. He used to spend the night a lot, and we would just ride together the next day. He even had his own bedroom, although more often than not we ended up falling asleep in the living room watching tv. I hadn't realized I was so opposed to staying in this house alone. It was an older house, so it was constantly creaking. When Jake stayed, we would joke about ghosts walking around upstairs. The past couple nights it hadn't seemed as funny. I just crawled onto the couch, left the tv and lights on, and hoped to sleep at least a little, in spite of the footsteps overhead.


	2. Chapter 2

The next couple months went about the same, with less people as nosy as they were the first day. Between Ben, Angela, and common sense, people figured out Jacob was going to school on the rez. Jacob and I saw each other almost every day, he was usually waiting for me when I got home from school.

One Friday afternoon in October, he seemed more excited than usual.

"Alright Black, what's got you all jittery."

"Nothing! I'm just excited to spend more than a couple hours with you. Go pack a bag, you're spending the weekend with me."

"And what makes you think I'm just gonna jump when you call?" I smirked at him.

"Besides the fact that you can't resist my masculine charms?" I rolled my eyes. "Rachel's in." My eyes went wide, and I'm pretty sure glass shattered somewhere from my squeal. Much to Jacob's chagrin, Rachel and I were closer than sisters. She was a couple years older than Jacob and me, but neither one of us noticed.

Until she went off to college.

We emailed back and forth, but I hadn't seen her since March. She had been a good little student and taken a full load during the summer semester. Can't blame her, I would have done the same thing. Get it over with. It took me all of three minutes to get everything I needed for the weekend, and we were on our way. For some reason, seeing Rachel turns me into one of those idiotic school girls I'm always complaining about. We ran and hugged each other and went off to sit on the front porch to catch up. I heard Jake grumbling something under his breath as he took my bag in, but I knew he expected it from us.

"So how are you and Jake?"

"We're good. Separate schools suck, but otherwise we're good."

"Oh yeah?"

"Don't even start with that." She was always on the same page as Angela.

"What?"

"It's your brother, isn't that a little weird for you to even think about."

"Nah. I've had my time of acceptance, now I'm ready for you two to quit beating around the bush, and just go for it."

"Can we please not talk about this here?" I whispered looking toward the front door.

"Oh please, he won't come within ten feet of us for fear we'll talk about periods or something. Oh! I almost forgot, what's Leah up to."

"Same old Leah. I may have given up on her."

"Oh no, she's still no better?"

"Would you be?" I shook my head.

"Actually I'm surprised she hasn't burned his house to the ground. Scratch that, I'm surprised she hasn't burnt _him_ to the ground." Rachel joked with a dark laugh.

"Yeah, Jake won't have much to do with him either."

"I wonder if she still talks to Emily."

"I don't know, I haven't talked to her in awhile. She just kinda sits around sulking. She's changed so much, and I hate Sam so much for that. He did this to her. He broke her, and I will never forgive him for that."

"Well, let's go find our sister and see how she is."

I'm not sure if broken was the correct description of her. I hadn't seen her in several months. As long as I had been friends with Jacob, I had been close with Rachel and Leah too. After Rachel went off to college, Leah and I remained close, but then Sam happened. They had been together as long as I had known her. It was always Leah and Sam, and they were happy. Perfect for each other actually. They complimented each other like nothing else I had ever seen. Then one day her cousin came into town, Sam took one look at her, and just like that, it was over. We were all shocked and devastated, but nothing compared to how Leah felt. I couldn't imagine. I didn't even want to. She withdrew from everyone, kept to herself, even attempted to drop out of school, but Harry and Sue put a stop to that quick. It was absolutely, the most unhealthy thing I had ever seen. I had even tried the whole tough love thing on her. That backfired in a bad way.

"_Damn it Leah! I can't do this anymore, I can't just sit here while you do this to yourself."_

"_Then don't. I never asked you to stay with me like some pathetic puppy."_

"_Really? I'm sorry if I care too much to let you deteriorate to nothing. I know you hurt, I get it -"_

"_You don't get anything. You don't understand, and you never will."_

"_If this is what happens, then no, I hope I never understand."_

"_Just leave. You can't help me. No one can."_

"_I'm not leaving. You're my sister, and I can't just let you rot like this."_

"_You are not my sister. You don't even belong here. You aren't part of this tribe, hell, you aren't even indian. Just. Leave."_

So I did. And I hadn't been back. I had called her mom a couple times to check in on her, but I never told anyone, not even Jake, what she had said, no matter how much it hurt. I knew it wasn't personal, I knew she didn't mean it, but it still hurt, and had caused some little insecurity I wasn't aware of to flare up at the time. Sue greeted us both at the door.

"Girls! I'm so glad to see you! Come on in! Leah usually takes her time coming home, she should be here shortly."

As we all sat in the little living room, I was reminded of the many nights we would all camp out here, watching scary movies, talking about everything, staying up way too late giggling, and then waking up to the smell of Sue's delicious breakfasts. I was brought back to the present by the sound of the door. We all stood up looking toward Leah, as she stood staring back. I couldn't figure out if she was just surprised to see us, or afraid of why we were there. The look on her face seemed to give both emotions.

"Rachel?"

"Hey girl!" Rachel walked over quickly and wrapped her in a big hug. I just hung back to kind of feel out the situation. Neither me or Leah were big on hugs. Rachel was usually our one exception, you just couldn't help it with her. When Rachel released her, Leah looked at me. I gave her a small smile.

"Bella. I'm so sor-"

"Hey, don't." I offered her a bigger smile. She surprised me by giving me a quick tight hug.

"Come on upstairs you two."

"Woah Leah, I see you still haven't matured in your cleaning and organizational skills yet." Rachel joked, trying to lighten the tension a bit.

"I haven't seen you in months and the first thing you do is complain about my housekeeping skills. Nice Rach." Leah grumbled under a half smile.

"What can I say? I call em as I see em."

"Well, I'll take what I can get. I missed you like crazy. Both of you." She sent me a meaningful look. She didn't have to though. I wanted to tell her I understood, I only stayed away to give her some space, but I didn't want to bring it up in front of Rachel. Instead of bringing up the Leah's mental state since Sam, Rachel started in about her life away from home, and we fell into the comfortable conversation we used to have all the time. We talked about classes, other friends, and unfortunately the topic of boys came up.

"So there's this guy I've been seeing." Rachel admitted

"And you didn't think to tell us before now?" I asked in mock hurt.

"I didn't want to talk about it in an email, and I wanted to wait until I thought there was something to tell."

"So….is there?" Both Rachel and were shocked speechless when Leah prodded her for more information. "What? Geez guys, I didn't turn lesbian or anything. Of course I'm interested in what's going on with you."

Rachel laughed and I grinned big. It felt like she was coming around, slowly, but any progress was good progress. It had only been about a year since it happened. So Rachel filled us in on her new guy. It wasn't anything serious, just because she wouldn't let anything complicate her already complicated school schedule. She had gotten some kind of minority scholarship and she was using it to get her PhD, and her plan was to open a clinic here in La Push. Not only was the majority of the population low income here, but a lot of them, mostly the older ones, didn't trust the 'white men' to practice medicine on them. At one time Leah and I were planning on going into nursing so we could all work together. Until we realized that I faint at the sight of blood, then that option went out the window.

We talked for several hours, completely unaware of what time it was. Before we knew it, it was nearly midnight, and we were saying our goodbyes, promising to meet up the next day. Leah stopped me as Rachel was walking down to the road.

"I need to talk to you. Privately. Can you come over tomorrow, just you?"

"Leah, really, there isn't anything-"

"No, not that, although I can't even apologize enough. No, it's something else."

"Yeah, no problem. How about first thing in the morning."

"Perfect. See you then."


	3. Chapter 3

I couldn't imagine what she would possibly have to tell me that she couldn't have told me in front of Rachel, outside of the words we had the last time we had seen each other. And what she did tell me was nothing I expected.

"Please be careful with Jacob."

"Umm, what?" I knew it was early, but I was pretty sure the cold air from the short run to her house from Jacob's had my brain up and running correctly, but she was not making any sense. "What are you talking about?"

"Ok, I know you're gonna think I'm crazy, but something is happening to the guys here. They're all, _changing_."

"What do you mean?"

"Ok, well, you know last year..."

My heart hurt when I saw her wince whenever she thought of him.

"right before everything happened, he started changing. He would have these random fits of anger. Things that didn't normally bother him, would suddenly upset him really bad. He would spike these crazy fevers, but he would say he felt fine. There was even once when he just left, and was gone for several days, and didn't bother to tell me. I was freaking out, and I ended up finding out from Jake's dad that he went on some kind of hunting trip. He came back with all his hair cut off, and it was just, I don't know…."

"Wow. Do you think he was on drugs?"

"That's just it, it sounds like that, but he was never mean to me, and I never saw him really mean to everyone else. It was more like he had some kind of breakdown, or life change, or something."

"It sounds like one of those stories that Rachel tell us about those people that get hit in the head really hard and their whole personality changes."

"Yes! That's exactly what it was like, except his personality was the same. I don't know, it's hard to explain. All I can tell you is that _something_ happened to him. _Something_ changed him. And it's spreading." Now she had my attention.

"What do you mean it's spreading?"

"This past January, Paul Lahote went through the same thing. In May, Quil and Jared both followed suit, and now I've noticed Embry showing signs."

"Has anyone else noticed these things? I mean, I can't imagine everyone being ok with the boys just cutting off their hair like that."

"I know! I mentioned it to dad, and he said something about Sam really helping the boys. He said I was probably making a bigger deal about it because Sam was involved, but he stressed that they were all fine. And that's just it, _everyone_ is saying they are fine. Like they are hiding what's really going on."

"Invasion of the body snatchers?" Leah huffed and rolled her eyes at me. "Ok, ok, I'm sorry. So why should I be careful around Jake, I mean you said they aren't mean- to-"

"You're too attached to him. You're as dependent on him as I was to Sam. You told me one time you never wanted to understand what I went through. And please believe me when I say that I never want you to go through that either. I know you and Jake are' just friends', but think about how you would feel if he even ripped away the friendship."

I just sat staring at her. Just the thought of not having him made my chest hurt and my stomach turn. She was right, even just as a friend, I was way too attached.

"That's what they've all done." She continued. "As soon as Quil and Jared started following in Sam's footsteps, he stopped hanging out with Jake and Embry. It's like they only hang out with each other. Like some crazy club."

"Or a cult."

"Oooh, yeah. That sounds about right."

"But come on, you know Jake, he wouldn't do that."

"I knew Sam too. We all did. He would never have done anything like that. Turns out I was _very_ wrong. We all were."

"What am I supposed to do? I can't end my friendship with him, he really is my everything."

"Do you love him?"

"Of course." I brushed past the double meaning she was throwing at me.

"I don't know, just enjoy it while you can, but be prepared things will change soon."

I left shortly after, taking the long way around back to Jake's house. Running always helped clear my head, and it was definitely getting foggy up there. This had just been way too much. How was I supposed to prepare to lose Jake? He really was my everything. Maybe I should just talk to him. Maybe if _he_ was prepared, he could stop whatever it was the rest of the guys were going through. But what was it? I hated to even think this, but drugs really seemed like the only logical answer, but from what I had always seen, that had usually been followed by some violent behavior, and according to Leah, there hadn't been any. So what then, some kind of late tribal puberty?

And how did the subject of me and Jake always seem to pop up? People had joked about it for years, just because usually one didn't go anywhere the other didn't follow. But isn't that what best friends do? If Leah and I had this relationship, would people just assume we were lesbians? But then again, I would be lying if I said I didn't feel like there was something actually there. The first time I can think of feeling it was right after Christmas this last year. It was snowing, and we were sitting in the living room with the lights off with it snowing, and I was cold so I got a blanket, and just sat in his lap with his arms wrapped around me in the recliner. I was really only being silly, using him to get warm, but it felt…..different. More than just comfortable. It felt right. We both ended up falling asleep like that, watching the snow fall. That was the first of several things that any other time in our relationship would have been no big deal, but suddenly they were turning into a big deal.

I decided to head back once my lungs started stinging and the sleet started falling. I turned and decided to take a shortcut through a patch of the forest that I was pretty sure would lead to the backside of Jake's house. The canopy kept most of the sleet and rain away, but also kept most of the light out too. I wasn't that familiar with the area, and I hopped over a fallen tree, but it was laying at the edge of a drop off that I didn't see until it was too late. I tried to grab onto the fallen trunk, but I wasn't fast enough, and I was pretty much free falling down the side of a small wooded cliff. I covered my head with my arms as I felt my body ricochet off trees and rocks. After what felt like falling forever, I finally came to a stop. I slowly opened my eyes that I had clenched shut during the fall and brought my hands down. My ribs ached badly, and my pants had been ripped up, and spattered with blood. I gingerly stood up, but fell right back down in a howl of pain. It figures I would have twisted an ankle. I tried to see where the brightest part of the sky was, to find my way back out, but it was nearly impossible through the trees and clouds. I looked up to see how far I had fallen. It didn't look far, maybe 30 feet, but it was covered with trees and rocks, and I felt like I had hit every single one on the way down. I turned to look around and decided I needed to keep going, although I didn't know how I was gonna do that on my ankle. I found the sturdiest branch nearby to use as a crutch, and had made it a few yards when I noticed movement in the bushes beside me. I kept on going, not thinking much of it, but stopped when I heard a small growl behind me. I stopped and slowly turned to see a little bear cub roll out of the bush.

Now, for anyone that isn't familiar with the habits of woodland creatures, this might seem like a cute and fuzzy picture, a little baby bear coming out of the undergrowth, toddling along like a little child. However, what most people don't realize, is that just like humans, mama bears aren't just gonna let their babies go off by themselves. And just like humans, mama bears are extremely protective of their babies. Unlike humans though, they don't care whether you truly mean harm or not, and they won't think a thing about killing you if you are remotely close enough to be a threat.

And I was well within threat radius.

I spun around on my one good foot, trying to hobble away, when I heard a low menacing growl behind me. I didn't even look, I just kept on going. I could see the tree line thinned out in the distance, and I started going faster, which caused me to lose my balance and go down. I rolled over quickly to see the very large bear stalking toward me, snarling. I screamed and started pulling myself back with my arms. The bear could have easily caught up, so she may have realized that I was injured and wasn't much of a threat, but of course all I could see at the time was death looking me straight in the face.

Until I felt two strong arms wrap around my torso and lift me up to my feet.

"Don't look her in the eyes, and don't make any sudden movements." Jake whispered in my ear. I nodded tightly, moving my eyes to the ground. He went to let go of me, but caught me again when my ankle gave out. He wound an arm around my waist and I wrapped an arm around his neck for support, and he slowly backed us away from the bear. Once we backed away enough to where the bear was no longer advancing, he spun us around and picked me up and took off toward the tree line. We came out about a half mile down from his house.

"Damn it Bella, what were you thinking? How many times have I told you not to go by yourself! You could have gotten yourself fucking killed!" He was yelling, but he was also gripping onto me tight, so I knew he was just scared.

"How did you find me?"

"I called Leah's looking for you, she said you'd left out hours ago, so I went out looking for you, I just happened to be out this way when I heard you yell." His jaw clenched and he exhaled hard.

"I didn't realize I was so far away, I thought I was right behind your house." I said in a shaky breath. My adrenaline was gone and I could now feel the pain I was in. I clenched my teeth against the throbbing in my ribs and ankle with every step he took, and did my best to hold back the whimpers from the pain. I buried my face in his chest trying to hide my tears. He didn't say anything else the rest of the way back to his house. I was suddenly very tired and just wanted to sleep off everything I had just went through.

But I don't usually get what I want.

Jake bypassed the house and headed straight for his dad's truck.

"What are you doing, where are you going?" I started panicking because I unfortunately knew the answer.

"Bells, now listen. You need to get checked out, you may have-"

"No! Jacob Black, put me down!" I was frantic. I couldn't go to the hospital, I hadn't been there since I had lost my dad, and I certainly wasn't ready to go now. Several years back when Leah had broke her leg, I tried to go visit her, but ended up having a panic attack in the parking lot.

"Bella, this is not up for discussion. You have to go." He started trying to load me in the truck, and I just started screaming like someone was trying to kidnap me, which technically he was. Rachel came running out of the house.

"Jacob! What the hell are you- Oh my God, Bella! What happened to you?"

"Please Rachel! Please don't let him take me to the hospital!" I was crying now, certainly Rachel would understand, though I would have thought if anyone would have understood, it would have been Jacob.

"Jacob, hold on a minute." Rachel said softer, and ran back into the house. I relaxed, thinking she was gonna find a way to keep me from going. Unfortunately I was wrong. She came back out with her purse. "You'll need my help." Rachel said to Jacob. I started screaming and crying again as they loaded me into the truck.

All I could think of was seeing my dad there in the ER, the front of his uniform soaked in blood, trying to gasp for whatever air he could get, his eyes focused on something far away. Something no one should ever see. Something I had fought for a long time to forget, but now I was going to relive it all. I was shaking and couldn't control my breathing, which hurt my chest even more. Rachel had hold of me, trying to calm me down, but I couldn't. It was as if I knew that as soon as I walked in that ER, dad was still gonna be laying there on that gurney, still trying to breath.

I don't remember exactly when I blacked out, but I'm sure it was best for everyone, and thankfully i don't remember a thing from the hospital. All I remember is waking up slowly in my soft, warm bed. I took a deep breath to stretch, which caused an involuntary yelp of pain.

"Bella! Are you ok? What's wrong?" Jacob appeared at my door. I shook my head at him.

"Sorry, I forgot what had happened. I'm still really sore." I gingerly moved myself to a sitting up position while he sat at the foot of my bed.

"Yeah, they said you'd be sore for awhile. The good news is there wasn't any cracked or broken bones, and your ankle isn't broke either."

I thought about giving him crap about making me go to the hospital, but logically I knew he did the right thing. He was looking down at his lap, fumbling with the hem of his shirt.

"I'm sorry." I said in a near whisper. He stopped working his hands but still didn't look up. "I'm sorry I flipped out about the hospital. I just-"

"Bells, come on. You don't have to apologize for that. I knew you were gonna flip. And you have no idea how much I hated to do that to you. I was worried you would hate me after that."

"Oh, Jacob, how could you think that? I know you were just trying to take care of me. We both know I have some really bad issues about…..that."

"I know. I just, geez Bells, you have no idea how scared I was when I saw that bear on you." His voice shook with emotion. "I mean, that could have been it, and then when I finally got you out of there, I just, I had to know for sure you were ok, that you were gonna be ok."

I motioned for him to come closer, and we both laid down together, just holding each other. And it was perfect. In that moment we were just 'us'. There was no analyzing our relationship, no picking apart every little thing trying to figure out what it meant, we were just Jake and Bella, we loved each other, and were just so thankful to have each other in our lives.


	4. Chapter 4

It took about a week and a half to be able to move and breath without feeling sore and achy, though I was on stupid crutches for about 3 weeks. By the end of the first week, I had lost all patience with the entire student body, and actually got in trouble when Mr Hall overheard me threaten to beat one guy in the face with them if he didn't stop trying to help me. Thankfully I got back on two feet again just in time to keep my neurotic mother out of the loop.

Mom made it home from traveling, right before Thanksgiving, which meant she wouldn't be here for Thanksgiving, and that made me kinda happy. My mom was, well, crazy. I loved her of course, but whenever she came in, my life stayed in disarray, and I have to have order to my life. She was a photographer, and had to travel nearly year round.

When she first started traveling, I had felt abandoned, she was the only parent I had left, but it was the first time, probably in her entire life that she had liked something enough to stick with it as long as she had. Ever since my father had died, she had been a pinball, bouncing around from one interest to another. Life insurance doesn't last long, and she nearly lost the house. So when I was in the eighth grade she applied for some photography job with a nature magazine. She may be crazy, but she takes some amazing pictures. It's not very often a person is able to do what they love and make good money doing it. I was just sorry she hadn't started sooner. Just two years after she started, she was able to go freelance, and now she worked under several different publications. More recently I had seen some of her stuff on the National Geographic site. And I think she had done some stuff in the past for Time. Since our families had always been so close, she had turned over temporary parental rights to Billy, and Rachel had moved in with me, before she left for college, so I could still stay in my own home.

We went to dinner and she grilled me about life, told me about hers, the places she'd been recently, and the places she was supposed to be going within the next year. She tried to talk me into letting her buy me a new wardrobe from some big city in europe, but I wouldn't let her.

"Well, I didn't figure you would agree, so I already bought you something for your birthday."

"Nope, can't do that."

"Excuse me?"

"You missed the deadline. Once September is over, the option of giving presents is null and void."

"This one doesn't count under your stupid little qualifications. It's…...special."

"Ok…...gotta admit, little scared here, mom."

"Oh stop. Now, I know you and I have extremely different opinions, but I really feel like I nailed you with this one. I really thought about it, and how you would feel about it-"

"You called Jake didn't you?"

"What? Now why would you think that?"

"It's ok mom, I know you are busy, and I understand. I promise, it really doesn't bother me. It's enough that you care to try to get me something I like, and Jacob is the best way to do that."

"Really?"

"Seriously."

"Ok, well, just keep in mind that you aren't mad at me." She said, looking over my shoulder.

Just then I heard a chorus of happy birthday come from behind me as the waitresses came around with a dessert for me. You would think I would be used to this by now with my mom, but somehow she manages to embarrass me every year.

"Bella, I swear, you have no sense of humor." She said after the last waiter walked away.

"Next year we're staying home."

"You said that last year."

"I know."

The next day she surprised the crap out of me. Well, 'surprise' is putting it mildly.

"You bought me a car?!"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because it's bad enough you are here by yourself all the time, I want at least something in your life to be dependable."

"I have Jake! He's dependable!"

"Aww, thanks Bells! That makes me feel all warm and fuzzy." Jake grinned brightly from the porch swing.

"Not now." I snapped back.

"Bella," mom continued. "I'm not doing this with you. It's already done, bought and paid for. Why can't you just be grateful and take it?" I could tell she was exasperated, and a bit offended. I softened my tone.

"Oh mom, of course I'm grateful. I love it, I really do."

I really did. It was actually perfect for me.

"I just hate to see you spend so much money on me."

"Bella, honey, that's my job. I don't get to be a mom to you very much, so when I can, I'd like to be able to go all out for you. And as far as money goes, I've probably come out miles ahead of other girls' moms. You've never been into designer clothes, shoes, or purses. You don't buy tons of expensive makeup. And you really do deserve to have nice things. You've always been much more mature for your age compared to others, although I know my life decisions haven't helped. I trust you and know you would never give me or Billy any trouble. Overall, I'm a happy mom."

Ok, I wasn't counting on this taking a sentimental turn.

"Well, Let's take it for a drive I guess!" I said, diverting the conversation.

Mom squealed and Jake jumped up and ran over to get in the backseat. Man, I had loved my truck, but this? This was awesome. Smooth, quiet, good acceleration and braking, and didn't shake you apart once you hit fifty. In fact, mom had to remind me to slow down a couple times. And I loved that it wasn't anything flashy, just a simple, muted green SUV, and not one of those huge monstrous ones either. Just a little Forester. Easy to fade into the background, especially in a place like this. Absolutely perfect.

The next week was Thanksgiving, which ended up being the normal, quiet affair at my house that I had grown to love. Rachel came home, and the Blacks all came over for dinner at my house. It was one of my favorite holidays, because I felt like I was with my real family here. I hated to say that without including my mom, but she was always so absent, she was more like a secondary parent than anything. And it was ok, it was what I had learned to accept, and to me it was normal. as far as family went, people that I loved and trusted absolutely, people I could count on always, were right there, sitting with me around the table.

Unfortunately, the next few weeks were filled with stress for me. All my teachers were pushing papers and projects on us since the end of the semester was coming up, so in a little less than a month, I had two research papers due, as well as a creative writing assignment, which I absolutely sucked at. Give me a twenty page research paper, and I'll pour myself into it, no problem. Ask me to come up with a work of fiction, and I'm clueless.

I finally made the decision to ban Jake from the house for a week. I just couldn't get anything done with him around, and he was proving to be even more distracting lately, although I'm pretty sure it had more to do with me than him.

It was about 1030, and I was sitting on the loveseat in front of the living room window, tweaking my history paper, when I first felt it. It was an incredibly strong sensation of being watched. I looked out into the woods surrounding the house and didn't see anything. It was completely dark everywhere, and I couldn't see anything, and realized someone could be standing out there, just staring in, and unless they were right up against the window, I would have no idea. When my heart rate went into overdrive at the thought of someone looking in, I decided to go ahead and pull the blinds down. I knew I was being ridiculous, but I also didn't care. I walked across the foyer into the kitchen to close those blinds, and immediately jumped back into the hallway.

A face.

A white face blurred past the window quickly. It was there then gone within a second, like I blinked it away. But there was no detail. Whatever, whoever it was ran too fast. It was several long seconds later when I finally got the breath to scream. I ran to the kitchen door that led to the back deck to make sure it was locked, then to the front door.

Both were locked. I ran up to my room (smart move Swan, trap yourself upstairs), kept the lights off, and grabbed the phone. I sat on my bed, listening for any sounds, and then trying to calm myself down before I made the call.

"Yello?"

"Jake! Hey!" Ok, that was a little to perky. And a bit out of breath.

"Bells? What's wrong?"

"What? What do you mean? What makes you think something's wrong?"

"Well, first of all, it's only wednesday, and I'm quarantined until tomorrow-"

"You're not quarantined, I hate when you say that."

"Second, you sound like you're on speed."

"Well, I just kinda freaked myself out a little bit."

"What do you mean?"

"Well..." Now that I had calmed down a bit, I was starting to feel like it may have been my imagination.

"I kept feeling like someone was outside, watching me. I didn't see anyone, but it's so dark, so I was lowering the shades, and I was walking into the kitchen, and...you know what? This is stupid. Never mind."

"Bella. What happened." Woah, serious Jacob is serious.

"I thought I saw a face in the window. It blurred past real fast, so I'm not sure, it could have just been light reflecting off the window."

"You saw a face? I'm on my way over-"

"No! No no no, it's probably nothing, I haven't heard anything, nobody trying to get in or anything. I just needed to talk to you to calm down."

"No way Bells, I can't leave you by yourself over there."

"Jake, seriously, now that I'm calmed down, I really think it was nothing. Besides, I'm here by myself all the time. I checked the doors, everything is locked up tight."

"You sure?"

"Yep. I'm just gonna go ahead and get my shower and watch some tv."

"Ok. Well keep your phone on you. And call me if you hear ANYTHING. Got it?"

"Yeah, sure."

"I mean it."

I was just getting ready to head to the bathroom when the phone rang and I screamed. Apparently I hadn't calmed down as much as I had though.

"Geez Leah, you scared the crap out of me!"

"What's got you all freaked out."

"Oh nothing, I'm just seeing things."

"Seeing things? Please don't tell me your stupid creaky house actually produced a ghost."

"Oh, please don't even talk about that crap right now. Earlier I could have swore I saw a face in one of the kitchen windows."

"Eww! A peeper?"

"No. Well, I don't know. It was like a real quick blur. I can't remember any details, just a white face with dark eyes. You know what? Change the subject. What's up?"

We ended up talking about what had been going on with her while we had been out of touch, and that even though I had thought it hadn't done much good, me yelling at her had actually helped. She had really taken time to think about what was most important in her life, and pretty much put her big girl panties on and got a grip. That and the fact that she felt so bad that she lashed out so badly at her sister.

"Aww, you mean we're besties?" I said in my fake valley girl accent.

"Shut it Swan. I told you I'm sorry, I feel really bad, now let's move on."

"You truly know how to speak to my heart. besides, I told you I forgave you, maybe you should be the one to -" I gasped when I heard the banging on the door.

"Bells? You ok?"

"I...I...There's someone at the door."

"Then go open it idiot."

"Leah! Do you not remember me telling you about the face I saw?"

"The face you supposedly saw? Yeah. But I'm pretty sure murderers don't knock on doors."

"Maybe they're extra polite."

"Oh yeah. 'Excuse me ma'am, if you wouldn't care to move away from the couch, I'm afraid the blood spatter will soil the upholstery.' Go open the damn door!" As if on cue the pounding got louder, and I heard a muffled voice yell something. I started down the stairs and heard the voice again, much clearer.

"Seriously?" I huffed in both frustration and relief when I recognized the voice." Leah, I'll call you back."

"Yeah, sure." She laughed.

I ripped the front door open.

"What did I tell you?"

"I really don't care what you told me." He pushed past me to come in and I closed the door behind him. "I told you I couldn't leave you here by yourself."

"Jake," I sighed at him. I couldn't be mad at him. I probably would have done the same thing. And deep down, I really did feel better for him coming. So I just wrapped my arms around him and hugged him to me.

"Geez, you're soaked!"

"Yeah, I had to drive the bike over. The rabbit's been giving me some trouble."

"Great, as if I didn't feel bad enough. Well come on, you get the shower first. I'm sure I've got plenty of your old clothes around here. Oh, and you can't drive that thing home tonight."

"Wasn't planning on it." He said grinning.

"Alright, I'll drive you home after you shower."

"Nooo, what I meant was that I'm staying over tonight."

"Ok, that is completely unnecessary."

"Isabella Swan, are you saying you don't appreciate my company?" He asked in mock hurt. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Shower. Now." And pointed up the stairs.

Two showers and a pot of macaroni and cheese later, we were snuggled under the blankets, watching 'Wipeout' reruns. It had felt like forever since we had done this, when really it had only been a couple of months.

"I've missed this."

"I know. Me too."

"I hate that you moved schools." I pouted.

"I know. Me too."

"I was kinda worried that you would move on, find other friends, other people you had more in common with." He raised up and looked at me in the eye.

"What?" He asked incredulously, like I had just told him I had murdered a puppy.

"I mean, I know we're close, but now you're surrounded by people you have a lot more in common with, everyone at that school is Quileute. And I'm sure there are girls there who-"

"Woah! First of all, seriously? Bella, this isn't just a friendship. This is…...so much more."

And there it was, that tightening in my chest and abdomen, the one I couldn't explain, but had been happening more and more often. Was it hope?

"I just, I don't want to hold you back, I don't want to be the reason you missed out on...something."

"Bella, as long as I'm with you, I'm not missing out on anything. And if you were 'holding me back', that would imply I wanted to be somewhere else, and there is nowhere else I would want to be. I mean, come on. You think I would drive in the freezing rain for just anyone?"

I couldn't help but let a small smile show through.

"I think you do that more for the food than for me." I tried my distraction technique again. He chuckled and the tension lifted.

"That's true, you do make some wicked good mac and cheese." He said sarcastically.

"Hey! I wasn't planning on you coming over! I guess I'll just have to keep a roast around in case you show up."

"Yeah, sure. Alright, it's late and as much as I hate it, we have to go to school in the morning."

We snuggled in and fell asleep with his arms around me, listening to the sleet hit the windows.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning we were getting ready to leave.

"Oh Bells, umm, do you have any plans for friday night?"

"Oh yeah, you know, football games, parties, the norm."

"Alright smartass, I was just asking. I wanted to go to a new place that opened up in Port Angeles."

"Aww, Jake! You gonna take me on a date?" I said laughing.

"Umm, yeah….actually."

I stopped and just looked at him, not really sure what to say. It both excited and unnerved me. My heart felt like it would explode and my face felt like it was on fire.

"Really?" And it came out as a squeak. I suddenly felt very nervous, and he looked it too.

"Uh, yeah, well, I mean, if you want to, but umm.."

"No! I mean yes!"

Wow, we were just so good at this.

"Yes, I would love to go on a date with you." I said confidently. Because I did. No matter how much I told myself that we were better as friends, I wanted to be with him more than anything. He looked up and met my eyes.

"Really?" He asked, like he wanted to believe me, but was afraid.

"Really." His smile nearly shattered his face and I found my own smile mirroring his.

"Great! Ok, well, umm, how about I call you tonight and we'll work out the details?"

"Sounds good!"

"Ok. See ya Bella." He fumbled as he got on his bike.

"Bye Jake."

I think I stood there for five minutes solid after he rounded the corner. What just happened? We were going out? On a date? Wow, just, wow.

I didn't remember driving to school, or even going to school, but I must have been there, because I came home with a ton of work and no knowledge of what I was actually supposed to be doing.

"Hey Ange."

"Hey Bella, how's it going?"

"Pretty good. I have a really stupid question for you, our history assignment, I wrote it down, but I don't remember a thing from class, what did we go over today." Silence on the other end. "Hello? You still there?"

"Bella, were you really at school today?" Her tone was slightly condescending.

"Umm, yeah, of course, why?"

"Because I wasn't, and apparently you didn't notice."

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry Angela, I'm so sorry! What's wrong, are you ok."

"Yeah, act like you care now." She joked. "It was just a migraine. It's gone for the most part, but I'm gonna need a better explanation of why you were mentally MIA today."

"Oh, yeah, that. Well, umm, Jacob sorta….asked me out." I held the phone away as she shrieked, only to be followed by moans of pain. "You're an idiot." I scolded.

"Ugh, I know. Ok, so tell me the details."

I left out the disturbing catalyst of why he had come over, but I told her about the conversation we had before we went to sleep, and then of him being all cute and awkward when he asked me before he left.

"So, are you over your whole 'save the friendship' stand?"

"No, but now this gives me a chance to talk to him."

"Geez Bella, you're gonna piss this one away."

"No I'm-"

"Yes you are. You are gonna keep on and on about it until he thinks you are just coming up with excuses to not be with him. He's gonna back off, then you're gonna think he's not interested anymore, you won't communicate, and then BAM, you've lost everything."

"So basically, I'm screwed regardless."

"No you idiot, are you not listening to me? Ok, let's try this. Do you want to be with him? Plain and simple, would it make you happy to be with him?"

"It's not that simple though, there is this whole other side to us.."

"No, no, no! Stop with the friendship crap. Ok, let's say you _knew_ that this was a forever thing. Once you were with him, you were stuck with him for life. I know you're too young, blah, blah, but since you aren't acting like a young person and living in the present, you're not allowed to think like one right now. So, say you have a guarantee that this will last forever. Do you want it?"

My answer was immediate.

"Yes. I want it. Absolutely." My voice was almost a whisper.

"Ok, now that you have finally admitted _that_, now, knowing that it actually is an option, not a guarantee, but a real, possible option, do you really want to try to hang on to this friendship instead of taking the chance at being so completely happy?" I let out a heavy sigh and finally admitted to her what I had been afraid to admit to myself.

"Of course I want to take that chance, but the thing is, if I can't have him all for my own, I want to have some kind of relationship with him. I can't be without him completely. I guess, I'm afraid of losing all of it, so I feel like I need to hold onto the part I know is definite."

"That's just it Bella, it's not definite. If you let him go, he will eventually find someone else. Someone that makes him happy, someone that he gets along with as much as he does you, someone that will love him _and_ be his best friend. Now, where do you fit into the equation?"

"I don't like this conversation."

"I know Bells, but I just really don't want to see you lose him. The two of you just fit so good together. You balance each other out while enhancing the other too. You are perfect for each other, and I swear, if you let this slip by, I will beat you to death." I laughed at her now, but knew she was probably more serious than not.

"Thanks Ange. Thanks for cutting through the crap for me. You know me better than I thought." I heard her laugh on the other end.

"Well, I'm still pissed at you."

"Awe, come on, you know my mind was up in the clouds."

"I know, and I completely understand about that. I'm not mad because you didn't notice my absence. I'm mad you picked today of all days to not pay attention. Now I'm gonna have to call Jessica to get the stupid assignment."

"Oh. Please, please please don't tell her about this weekend! The last thing I want is the Spanish Inquisition tomorrow. Ooh! That was what we talked about today, the Spanish Inquisition! I remember now!"

"That was last week Swan. Geez, you're hopeless."

"Well, I tried. Call me when you find out?"

"I'll just have Jessica call you."

"I know where you live Weber."

After I finished talking with Angela, I got to thinking about what she had said about me and Jake, about how we were just so perfect together. How we fit together. I never got around to talking to him about what Leah had mentioned. I didn't want to do it on our date, that would be weird. Maybe I could just talk to him over the phone? Was this something you brought up over the phone? I guess I could just talk to him in a few days. But, I just felt like this was something that needed to be cleared up before we went any further in our relationship. I didn't have to wait too long on his call.

"Alright Swan, so what would you like to do tomorrow night?"

"Call me old fashioned, but isn't it the man's job to make that decision?"

"Hey, I've got to pay for this horse and pony show, you can at least carry your own weight here."

"_Horse and pony show_?"

"I don't know. Give me a break, I'm new at this."

"Yeah, sure."

"So what's for dinner tonight?"

"I decided to try out a homemade buffalo sauce, so I'm making boneless hot wings."

"You've got to be kidding. I come over and I get a blue box of mac and cheese. You're home alone and you're making hot wings. Can I express how crazy unfair that is? And that I'll be there in 15 minutes?"

"Woah! I don't think that's allowed, we're going out on a date tomorrow."

"Umm, this isn't a wedding, I'm allowed to see you before the date."

"Ok, but on the off chance of sounding weird here-"

"The off chance? That's pretty much a given isn't it?"

"Shut it Black. Ok, so there is a pretty good possibility that after tomorrow night, our relationship will be….different." This conversation couldn't have been anymore awkward.

"But that doesn't happen until tomorrow night…." I continued.

"Ah, ok I get it. But I still want wings, so here's the compromise. I come over and eat wings, and we pretend that tomorrow night is not happening. We pretend it's any other night. Two friends, hanging out, nothing different." I liked that idea. And maybe I could bring up the thing with Leah.

"Ok, sounds good. Now hurry or they'll be cold-"

The click of his phone cut me off.

Just under ten minutes later, he was knocking at the door.

"I should dock you three wings for driving like a crazy person."

"It's only twelve miles."

"It's raining."

"Which is the only reason I wasn't here in five." He grinned.

The wings were surprisingly good, usually I have to work out kinks in a recipe, but this one was fairly simple. And turns out, we're good enough friends to be able to play friends, because it was much less awkward than I thought it was going to be. Which boded well for my next topic.

"There's something I've been wanting to talk to you about." He froze, staring at me with fear in his eyes.

"Nothing good ever comes from a woman saying 'We need to talk'." He said, eyeing me. I couldn't help but snicker.

"No no, this isn't about you, well, maybe. I don't know, just listen."

I told him everything Leah had told me, about Sam, Quil, and now Embry, which he confirmed Embry had indeed cut off his hair and was hanging out with all of them. He said they even all had matching tattoos now. He got this faraway look in his eyes, and slowly got up and walked out of the kitchen into to living room.

"Jake, what's wrong?" I followed him into the living room. He was starting to worry me a little. He just sat down on the couch staring for a minute, and then he looked up at me, and he looked so much like a frightened little boy, and my heart broke for him.

"I'm so scared Bells." I sat down beside him and held onto him as he talked.

"It's everyone, all the guys around our age. They've just started changing and acting weird. It's true what Leah said, everything is true. I've noticed it too. I've mentioned it to dad, but he just acts like it's no big deal." He stopped and raised his head to look at me. "What if I'm next?" he almost whispered. "I don't know what it is, but I don't want any part of it." I hurt for him so bad right then, I wanted to just take him away from all this. It was in that moment that I realized I would do anything for this boy. I would fight for him, I would die for him.

I was in love with Jacob Black.

"Stay here tonight. Don't go back. Stay with me, and maybe we can figure this out." He let out a bitter laugh.

"No, we won't. Embry noticed it before. He was on our side, said he didn't want any part of it. After he changed, he said we were wrong. Said he couldn't tell me the specifics, but we were wrong, and Sam was helping them. Man, doesn't that just sound like a cult? Why did Leah bring this up anyway." I dropped my eyes to my lap.

"She was warning me."

"Warning you? About me? Bella, I would never-"

"She said you would change, and you wouldn't have anything to do with me anymore. Just like Sam did with her." I had been fighting the tears up until this point, but it was a losing battle.

"Don't you trust me?" The hurt in his voice cut me.

"Leah trusted Sam, they were in love, and had been for a long time. And look what happened. I just, I just don't think I could…...I'm not as strong as Leah. I just don't know how I would function without you." I laughed a bitter laugh, still keeping my eyes down, away from him. "How pathetic is that." Jake wrapped one arm around my shoulders pulling him to me, and the other hand lifted my chin.

"Even though I know you are, you don't have to be that strong. I would die before I let anything or anyone come between us." And then he gently kissed me. In that kiss I felt his meaning and the love behind his words, and I knew he meant every word with everything in him. I kissed him back wanting him to feel that I trusted him, that I would be fighting too. This wasn't just him anymore, this was us.

"Stay with me." I whispered against his lips.

"Always."

The double meaning was not lost on either of us.


	6. Chapter 6

**Who's ready for a Lemon? Just a small one to hold you over until Chapter 7.**

The next day the phone was ringing as I walked through the door. I let it go to the machine, I still had to figure out what to wear for our date tonight.

"Pick up the phone. NOW!" The voice over the machine yelled.

"Oh good Lord, what?" I complained into the phone.

"I want to know why I had to find out, from my brother of all people, that you had a date with Jacob Black." Aw crap.

"Leah, please calm down."

"No I won't calm down! The hell Swan?"

"Ok, he only asked me yesterday morning when he was leaving. He ended up coming over last night and-"

"Wow, skipped right over the date then?" She said smugly.

"Would you stop? No, actually, he was talking to me about Embry." Her tone softened.

"Oh yeah. So he told you?"

"Yeah. He's pretty shaken up. He's convinced he'll be next. Says whatever it is, it's going from oldest to youngest, so that puts him as next on the chopping block. Said he had noticed it too awhile back. Tried talking to Billy about it, but it was just like you said, brushed it off like it was nothing."

"Oh man. What's he going to do?"

"I don't know. I'm extremely tempted to just take him away somewhere, hide him away for a couple years."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure that's _exactly_ what you want to do." She joked.

"You're ridiculous. Anyway, I need to get ready, and you are wasting my time. Oh, and do me a favor? Hold off on telling Rachel? I haven't had a chance to tell her yet either."

"Oops."

"Damn it Leah."

After standing in front of my closet for way too long, and caring way too much about what I would wear, I decided to just go with something comfortable, but classy. It was just Jacob, but it was also a date. I wanted to put a little effort into it, but too much effort just wasn't me, and I knew he wouldn't like it either. I settled for my regular jeans and boots, but opted for a nicer sweater instead of a flannel or hoodie.

A few minutes after five I heard his bike pull up to the house.

"The bike? Really? You want a wet date?" His eyes went wide and he grinned. "No no no, you know what I meant." He laughed out loud at me, and I didn't know if I should be embarrassed, or laugh along with the stupidity of my slip up.

"Actually no, we're gonna take your car, if you don't mind." He held his hand out for the keys.

"Wait, you're driving?"

"Absolutely! Wasn't it you that said the man should take charge of the date? So I need to drive. Unless you'd rather get wet?" He raised his eyebrows at me suggestively. I rolled my eyes and handed over the keys.

The date actually went great, I don't know why I was afraid it was going to be awkward, it was so easy. There was no 'getting to know you' portion of the date, we laughed, joked, talked about things that we always talk about. Really, aside from the flirtatious touches and looks, nothing had changed. I started to see what everyone else had been seeing all along. This was always us, we just needed to acknowledge it.

After dinner, we did what we had been meaning to do for a couple years now. We broke down bought new phones. We were still using the old flip style. At first it was just because we hadn't got around to getting a new one, then it became a running joke about being hipsters and not giving in to the social pressures of having a smartphone, and then it became a contest as to who could hold out the longest. But in the end, it just came down to convenience. Plus, it would allow us to be able to talk to each other all day in school through texts. So because he was 'the man' and had to drive, I got to play with them the whole drive home. We got home about eleven but sat in the car and talked until about 12:30 when he finally decided to walk me to my door.

"Thank you." He said, taking my hand as we got to the door.

"For what?"

"For letting me take you out."

"I think I should be the one thanking you. And I hope this isn't a one time deal." I teased him. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close.

"No way. I'm not going anywhere unless you tell me to."

"Then I guess we're just stuck with each other." I smiled up at him.

"Absolutely." He whispered, closing the distance.

I closed my eyes as I felt his lips brush against mine. They were so warm and sweet, and as I pushed into the kiss, he slowly opened his mouth, testing the water, and I gladly gave in. His taste was amazing. It was like the smell of his skin, but stronger.

It was delicious.

His hand wound in my hair at my neck as he tried to get closer, and I was doing the same. Any hesitation I had felt before about being with Jake had completely melted away, and now I just wanted him, more of him than I could get to. I just wanted him closer to me, every part of his body touching every part of mine. I wanted to be completely wrapped up in him, and never be set free. He was pulling at me the same way, like he couldn't get enough, like if he could just get a little more closer, press our bodies together just a little more, I would inhabit him as he would me. Unfortunately lungs outweigh the flesh, and we broke apart to breathe.

"I want you to come in, but for some reason, I feel like that would be….." O said in between breaths.

"I know, I feel the same way. But it isn't fair. I got to hold you last night, I should be able to hold you tonight."

"It's not like this is our first date, really. I mean it is, but it isn't like we don't know each other or anything."

"Right. And just because I come in, it doesn't mean we can't take it slow. I mean, it's normal for me to stay over."

"And it's already so late, it's cold and rainy, and probably foggy. Way too dangerous for you to be driving your bike home."

"That's true. And there's one other thing."

"What?" I looked up and shivered as his eyes darkened.

"Wild horses couldn't drag me away from you." And his lips were back on mine, he had me pressed up against the door. My hands were wrapped in his hair, pulling him toward me. His hands glided down and lifted me up, and I wrapped my legs around him. Quite a bold move, but this was Jacob, and I didn't care. He started moving against me, and was the most amazing feeling. I released his lips and moaned out his name, which spurred him on. The feeling he was creating was like nothing I had felt before, it was new, but completely right. All coherent thought left me, and all I could think was that I wanted more. More of him against me, more of him touching me. He started moaning my name, and it just turned me on even more. Something was coming, building up inside me, and I didn't know what it was, but it was so good. Our breathing picked up, I moved faster against him, pulling his hair tighter, and he pushed against me harder and faster. I remember chanting, _don't stop, please don't stop_, and vaguely remember him saying the same thing, and then something inside of me exploded, causing electricity to shoot through my body as I screamed his name. He pushed against me a few more times and buried his face between my neck and my shoulder as he called out my name. We slowed our movements until we were both still, and just stood there in the silence coming back to ourselves.

"I really didn't mean for all that to happen that way." He said softly as our breaths slowed. "But I'm also not sorry." We both laughed, resting our foreheads together.

"Well I guess the issue of you staying is over."

"Alright. I"ll see you in the morning." He said backing away. I laughed and pulled him back to me for another kiss. I turned to unlock the door and stepped inside with him still nuzzling into my hair.


	7. Chapter 7

Monday came way too fast. We had spent most of the weekend together, which made it that much harder to separate for school. I got to the library an hour before class started to work on stuff I never got around to working on this weekend. I jumped when I felt someone smack me on the back.

"I figured you would be in here."

"You scared the crap out me. What time is it?"

"Nearly lunch." I spun around and stared at Angela.

"What?"

"Man you're gullible. You've got about ten minutes till first period."

"Sorry. I got absolutely nothing done this weekend and I was trying to get caught up."

"So, the date went well I take it?" She asked grinning. I tried to glare at her, but I couldn't stop my own smile.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. Too bad I don't have time to talk about it right now though." I said, sticking my tongue out at her. She laughed at me and I promised to tell her during lunch. Jake texted me during first period.

_**I miss you.**_

_Did you actually wake up for class then?_

_**I made it to class but still waiting to wake up**_

_I told you to go home earlier. You're too stubborn._

_**I'm sorry I'm not sorry I like spending time with you.**_

_Again. It's just the food._

_**Umm, excuse me, pretty sure I brought pizza over last night.**_

_Yes, and I made cookies._

_**I would have preferred the dough.**_

_And that's why I made them before you came over._

_Which speaking of, you probably shouldn't come over tonight._

_**Harsh Swan.**_

_You know I want you to, but I have a project due next week and paper due this friday that I was planning on doing this weekend but for some reason got sidetracked._

_**Slacker**_

_Shut it. I should be making you do it. It was your fault._

_**Hey, I didn't come over until yesterday afternoon. You had all morning to work on it.**_

_You didn't leave til five am. When am I supposed to sleep exactly?_

_**You did sleep. I have the drool marks to prove it.**_

_Eww, I don't drool! _

_**No, but you do snore. **_

_I hate you. _

_**Yeah, sure.**_

Angela met me at the library for lunch and I filled her in about what happened over the weekend. She was still worried I was going to screw it up somehow, but I promised I was really not trying to think of anything except how happy I was. She said when her and Ben first started dating, they had to limit seeing each other to weekends only so they could keep up with school, and I agreed it was probably something Jake and I should think about too. Although, her and Ben also saw each other during the day at school, so it wasn't quite the same.

We talked a little bit more about her weekend while we walked to our classes, and the paper we had coming up in history, and I was reminded of the project we had in bio for next friday, and my unfortunate luck with having Cullen as my lab partner.

"He really can't be that bad can he? Half the girls in the school would die to get the chance to be in your place."

"They can have him then. Nobody has any idea how weird he is. They're basing their opinions solely on looks. They're brainless, remember?"

"So you think he's hot too?"

"I actually prefer my guys with a little more meat on their bones, and a little more color to their skin."

"Not to mention long, dark hair." She murmured.

"Yeah, that definitely doesn't hurt." And we both laughed. Oh if the world had more Angela's in it, it would be a much better place. If only Angela was my lab partner, then the next 90 minutes wouldn't be as painful. Ugh.

"Good afternoon Isabella." I swear the sound of his voice made my skin crawl. Like it was _too _smooth or something. Manufactured.

"Edward." He had to know I was not the conversing type, not to mention he had ignored my initial request to _not_ call me 'Isabella'. I lost patience with him a long time ago, and more often than not, he spoke to the back of my head. I was past being cordial, and the fact we had to work on this project together turned my stomach.

"Are you ready for next week?" He asked, and I cringed in frustration, and nearly crumpled my page of notes I was trying to take.

"I will be."

"Why don't we get together after school this week to work on it together."

"I really don't think that is necessary."

"It _is_ a partnered project."

"And we've already split everything up. Nothing more needs done as long as you do what you are supposed to."

"I'm not worried about me, Isabella."

_Arrogant dick._

I wondered how much trouble I could possibly get in if I stabbed in the eye with my pen. I didn't say anything else the rest of the period. The bell rang and I jammed my notebook in my bag as fast as possible.

"Isabella, I would really feel a lot better about everything if we could meet and go over everything together." I turned and looked him full in the face.

"I couldn't give a rat's ass how you feel." His eyes widened and mouth opened, and I spun around with satisfaction that I had finally shut the idiot up. I walked down the hall feeling a lot better having said my peace, when I was knocked backward by what I thought was a child.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" She helped me up from the ground. I had never seen her before, but she had those same weird orange-yellow eyes that Creepy Cullen had. "I am such a klutz, I'm so so sorry! Are you ok? I can't believe I did that! Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine." I mumbled. She was causing a bigger scene by apologizing than she had by running into me. I swerved to walk around her but she stopped me.

"My name is Alice. Alice Cullen." Figures. I had been around her for all of five seconds and was already completely done with her.

"Bella." I mumbled, and turned to go the other way instead. She called out for me but I kept on walking. What was with this family?

"Really? You didn't like her?"

Angela and I were in 7th period history and I was telling her about my earlier encounters with the Cullens.

"I don't know, just first impression. It's just, she was making such a big deal about bumping into me, she was making a scene."

"Oh, well, she probably wasn't aware of your position around here as the invisible woman."

"You're hilarious."

"I know. But really, she's the nicest of all of them."

"All of them? How many are there?"

"Geez Bells, you really are in your own little world over there aren't you?"

"That's how we likes it." I said in in a creepy little voice. She rolled her eyes at me.

"You're such a nerd. I think I may be the only person that would get that reference."

"Whatever. Now seriously, there are more? What are they, related to the Duggar's?"

"What? Oh, no, they aren't _all_ siblings. There are five of them. Edward and Alice are twins, and Emmett is their older brother. He's in our grade and they're juniors. Then there is Jasper and Rosalie Hale. They're cousins of the Cullens and live with them."

"Wait, Jasper that sits back there?" I looked to the back corner of the class. He was sitting in the same place he always sat with the same expressionless look like he always had. "He seems so normal though." Granted, I had never taken the time to study him, but he kept to himself, and that made him normal in my book.

"Yeah, that's him. His sister looks just like him. Tall, skinny, blond, and perfect." I snorted.

"Perfect, huh?" I smirked at her.

"I'm talking about her you idiot. She's a freaking runway model."

"How do you know all of this anyway?"

"How do you think? Jessica can't keep her trap shut, I can't help but to absorb all this useless information."

"Well, it doesn't matter. Creepy Cullen is enough to keep me far far away."

"Nice!" Angela laughed.

After class we decided to meet at my house to work on our history paper together. Actually, she made the decision based on me making barbecue chicken and mashed potatoes. Seriously, if I couldn't cook, I wouldn't have any friends. Ben met us at my car and ended up being invited to dinner also, so he and Angela walked off to their car. I was just opening my car door when-

"Hello Isabella."

"You have got to be freaking KIDDING ME!" I shouted the last part without meaning to, and spun around, slamming my door behind me. Somehow this guy pushed all the wrong buttons, and I have never wanted to hurt someone so much.

"Please, Isabella. I came over to make peace. And reiterate that we really need to be working on our project. _Together._"

Ewww, that word. Now he not only annoyed me, but now revolted me as well. _Congrats. _I didn't even acknowledge his words. I just turned and got in my car. And he stood there. Looking at me. With a stupid looking smile on his face. What was this freak's problem? I turned the key in my ignition.

Nothing.

I tried it over and over. I heard him tap on my window.

"_Everything ok?_"

I didn't look at him. Somehow, some way, I knew he had something to do with this. I screamed out in frustration, and dropped my head back against the seat. Why wouldn't he just leave me alone? I was way past anger now. Frustration, as well as a bit of helplessness, had taken over and tears threatened to come. I refused to give him that benefit. I turned away and called the one person I knew I could count on, always.

"Bells! Thank goodness you're not going through with this quarantine thing." I gave a shaky laugh. He was already helping.

"Jake, I need you."

"Bella, what's wrong? Are you crying? What happened, where are you?" I heard something heavy and metallic drop and echo through his garage as he shuffled the phone around.

"I'm good, I swear. Just so very, very frustrated." I sniffed trying to forget about the crazy standing outside my door. "I'm at school, my car won't start." He blew out a sigh of relief.

"Geez babe, you scared me to death! I thought you were in trouble or something."

"No, nothing like that. Just annoyed."

"Well, I'm sure it's nothing serious, the thing is brand new. Worst case scenario, you got a dead battery. Let me clean up and I'll be there in about a half hour." Now it was my turn to sigh in relief.

"Thanks Jake, you have no idea how much I appreciate this."

"Bells, you act like this is some big favor. It's not. This is what I'm here for. I'd probably be mad if you didn't call me." Now he had me smiling like a goofball, and I didn't care who saw me.

"Oh, well in that case, I guess I don't need to repay the kindness with dinner."

"Now you listen to me woman, me coming to your rescue is a perk of you being with me, and your damn good cooking is a perk for me being with you. Got it?" I laughed and conceded, and finally ended the call after another promise of him being here in thirty minutes or sooner.

_I was betting on sooner_.

I was still sitting in the afterglow of my conversation with Jacob when I heard another tapping on my window. I felt my smile slide off my face as I looked straight ahead through the windshield. I was back to anger. Jacob had pushed the frustration level down quite a bit. He had reminded me I was stronger than this.

"_Isabella. Isabella, why don't you just let me drive you home. Maybe we could-"_

I interrupted him the only way I could. I laid on the horn. The parking lot had thinned a bit, but there were plenty of people to stare. I kept my face blank and staring straight forward as he tried yelling over the noise at me, but I just sat there. My car may not be running right now, but my horn works fine. And that sucker is loud too! He finally got the hint and walked away, but I didn't stop until he got to his car. I wanted to laugh. As much as I hated making scenes and being seen, for some reason that felt really good. Not as good as punching him probably would, but good enough for now.

As much relief as I had felt when Cullen had walked away, it was nothing compared to the feeling of hearing the roar of Jake's bike coming down the road. I hurriedly packed up my history notes I had been working on and got out. I grinned at him as he pulled up next to me.

"What are you so happy about?" He grinned back at me, pulling me to him.

"Just admiring my knight in shining armor coming to my rescue." He smiled and pulled me in for a long deep kiss. I couldn't help it, my hands wound back through his hair and I pulled him closer. I didn't care who saw us, although there were very few people left this late. He did the same, wrapping one hand in my hair, and the other wrapping around my lower waist and pulling me flush against him. He was still sitting on his bike, so I was centered around his one leg, right where it felt so good. I involuntarily rubbed against him and moaned. He lowered his hand getting a better grip on me and ground me into his leg again. I broke the kiss as I gasped.

"Oh God, Jake. Not here." I gripped his shirt tight, trying to ground myself back to earth, trying to keep myself from mounting him. And that vision didn't help. I could feel him gripping my shirt too.

"Yeah." He cleared his throat, his voice rough and deep. "Uh, I need to…...to look at your car. Just, umm, give me a minute." I backed away from him, biting my lip in a smile. He had his eyes shut and I knew he was trying to will himself to calm down.

"So Rachel was talking about her latest trip to Victoria's Secret for her new boyfriend..."

"ALRIGHT!" He said loudly. He blew out an exasperated sigh, and I held back a laugh. "Wow, you really know how to bring a guy back down, don't you Swan?"

"I'll make up for it later, promise." His eyes got big, and then he shook his head, getting off his bike.

"The car, the car. I need to check your car." He popped the hood and I let him look. I didn't even act like I was interested. He had tried teaching me over the years, but I kinda didn't see the point, when he was always around. He stood back looking…... not happy. That concerned me.

"What, what's wrong? And please remember you're talking to an idiot." I tried to joke. It didn't land, I wasn't even sure he heard it.

"Who has been around your car today?"

"Huh? What do you mean? Other than anyone who walked through the parking lot? Just me, why?"

"Did you give anyone the keys to it? To get something out of it?"

"No. Jake, what's wrong?" He bent back down and picked up something black and round with wires hanging out of it.

"The wires to your distributor cap have been cut. Not just pulled out, but _cut_."

"What could cause that." And suddenly I had a very good idea of not what, but _who_ would cause that.

"Someone would have cut them purposely." He looked straight at me. "Someone didn't want you going anywhere." Suddenly I felt very lightheaded.

_Cullen…._

_He did this….._

_Why? Just to talk to me?_

_No….he couldn't have done this…..he's just annoying, he isn't…..._

"Bella? What's wrong?" He looked at me with concern. I shook my head to clear away the thoughts. Right now is when I needed my head to be kept level, not clouded with both fear and rage.

"Sorry, sorry. I'm just trying to figure out exactly what is going on here, so if someone cut these wires, do you think it could have been a prank? I mean it's rare that someone around here gets a brand new car, especially after they've been driving a dinosaur-"

"I don't know Bells, if this was a prank, then it wasn't done in fun. This is definitely vandalism when it's gonna cost you money to get it fixed."

"But I couldn't have gotten hurt from it?" I wasn't trying to defend anyone's actions, just trying to get all the evidence before I went around pointing fingers.

"No, not from this. You just can't get the car started. But if someone was waiting to try to get you alone, that would be a different story." His jaw clenched as he said that and I debated about telling him my theory. I decided to try to lighten the tension instead.

"But Jake, there's just so many people I've pissed off over the years." I said dramatically with a smirk. He took the bait.

"Yeah, but Jessica and Lauren are too stupid to even know where the engine of a car is, less actually do any damage." He smirked back. I could tell he was still tense, but I'll take that over angry. "I guess we can swing by Autozone, and then you owe me some seriously good chicken. I'm starving." I smiled at him, and then I remembered.

"Oh no! Angela and Ben!"

"What?"

"They're at my house, waiting on me! I told them I was making dinner and then we were supposed to work on our paper tonight!"

"If she was worried, she would have called you, don't worry, her and Ben are probably-"

"She doesn't have my new number!"

"Alright." He said dropping the hood. "Let's go. Autozone can wait." He handed me the helmet he kept handy for me,as well as his leather coat he'd rode over in, and I got on behind him, scooting up close, holding onto him tight. I felt him take a deep breath before taking off. I buried my face in his solid back, inhaling his delicious scent.I loved how he smelled. He had a slight garage smell to him, motor oil and gasoline, mixed with the smell of the fresh damp air that he had ridden through, with his own deep muskiness underlying all of it. There was no way I could ever explain it, it was just a very peaceful smell.

Safety.

And Home.

I squeezed him tighter as he accelerated onto the main road. I loved riding with him. It was exhilarating, but I never felt scared, or that he would ever lose control. Maybe that was dumb of me, irresponsible and reckless, but I never felt that he would ever be careless with me. I always felt like everything he was doing, he was making sure I was being taken care of. I'm sure some of that was in my head, but I knew for a fact he didn't go as fast when I rode with him than when he rode by himself. I just wish he would take as much care of himself though, I needed him just as much as he needed me.


	8. Chapter 8

We pulled into my driveway ten minutes later and Angela and Ben were cozied up on the front swing.

"I'm so sorry Ange, I completely forgot to give you my new number."

"It's ok, is everything alright?" The two of us walked into the kitchen while Ben and Jake went into the living room.

"My car wouldn't start. I called Jake to come help me."

"Yeah, we saw him go by and we figured that's where he was going. So you got a dead battery?" She started prepping potatoes while I started on the chicken.

"No, he said something about wires being cut. I forget what he called it, but it concerned him a little."

Just then Jake popped his head in to tell us Ben was gonna drive him down to the auto store. After he left I went ahead and told her my theory.

"It's messed up, I know. But the whole situation is just, I don't know, weird, but more than weird."

"Yeah, definitely more than weird." She agreed. "It's really suspicious he was standing there, of all days, when your car doesn't start. Like he was just waiting on it to not start, to give him a reason to help you."

"That's how I felt. But then I'm thinking, wouldn't that make it obvious that he did it if he's just standing there? Wouldn't he want to stay inconspicuous until _after_ it didn't start? And after all the hate I've spewed at him, what would make him think I would turn to him of all people? I would have called Jessica, hell, I would have called _Lauren_ before I would have asked him. No, scratch that. I would walk before I called Lauren." We both broke out in laughter.

"Yeah, I thought you went a little far with that last one."

We finished up with dinner just as the boys got back. They had to order the parts, but they would probably be here within a day or two from another store, so it wouldn't be so bad. I just hated leaving my car up there all that time.

We had a good dinner, and Angela and I decided to scrap the studies for the night, too much had gone on, and we had the rest of the week to work on it.

We were the absolute best at procrastination. As well as predictions about staying up all night on Thursday night finishing everything.

I was cleaning up the dishes after Ben and Angela left, when I felt those strong arms loop around my waist. I smiled and leaned back into him as he kissed up my neck. I closed my eyes and worked to steady my breath. He had an amazing affect on me that I just couldn't get enough of, but I always tried to make it last as long as possible.

"How close are you to being done?" He whispered as he nibbled on my ear.

"Huh?" Words? He wanted me to speak words? He laughed and stepped back a bit. "I hate you." I grumbled. He just laughed more.

He helped me get everything rinsed and into the dishwasher. He sighed and looked at me, a little hesitant.

"What?" I grinned.

"How come you didn't tell me about Cullen?" He looked genuinely concerned.

"Uh, what?" Crap crap crap. I was definitely not ready to have this conversation with him.

"The Cullen kid. Ben said he's been bothering you."

"Oh, he's just annoying. He talks to me. You know how I hate that." He laughed at that and walked up in front of me.

"But he isn't, you know, _bothering_ you though."

"Oh, no. Not like that." At least, I didn't think so.

"Ok, I just, I hate that I'm not there for you."

"You hate that you're not there to mark your territory." I smirked at him, pulling him to me.

"Damn right! Maybe I should start showing up more often." he joked.

"Down boy, this isn't a contest. Trust me," I leaned up and whispered against his lips. "there is no contest." He captured my lips and pressed himself against me, pinning me with my back against the counter. One hand went up and cradled the back of my head, fingers winding through my hair, while the other glided down my side slowly, coming to rest on my hip bone, giving it a small squeeze once it landed. I could feel him hard against me, pressing against me just above where I needed it to be. I had one of my hands gripping his shirt tightly, while the other wound around to his back and had him pulled tight against me. Suddenly his hands moved swiftly underneath me and lifted me up and sat me on the counter.

"Now this is better." He breathed out. I was now eye level with him, with made kissing easier, as well that wonderful friction that I craved so much. I wound my legs around him, pulling him to me, and moaned loudly when I felt him rub himself right where he needed to be. My breathing sped up as I moved with him. His hands moved under my shirt and bra and rubbed and massaged me roughly, which made me so much hotter. My moans were coming with every breath now.

"More. I want more." I mumbled against his neck as I sucked and nipped. I felt him pick me up and start walking, but I didn't care where. Actually, every time he took a step, it bounced me against him, just making me need even more. I landed on my back and realized he'd brought us upstairs to my bedroom.

"I figured it would be more comfortable than the couch. And roomier." He looked a little nervous. I just smiled up at him.

"Perfect."

I pulled him down to me and started assaulting his mouth again, while working his shirt off. As soon as I got his off, mine was next along with my bra. Our skin felt so good against each other, we both moaned at the initial contact. He had me on my back, my legs wrapped tightly around his waist, while he sucked and nibbled at my nipples. I was biting my lip to keep from screaming. Then I felt his hand go under the waistband of my pants. This was new. And so good. I unbuttoned my jeans, allowing his hand to move easier. I felt his long, hard fingers glide over my slick center. I arched my back and gasped. He rubbed lightly over it again, and I raised up, trying desperately to gain that friction I was needing. I looked up at him, and I swear, his eyes looked completely black. He was staring at my face so intently as he made another pass, smoothing the wetness around even more, coating his hand and the entire outside of my pussy.

"Jake, please." I whimpered.

"Please what Baby?"

"Please touch me."

"I am touching you." He rubbed his hand again, with more force, and I could feel him glide over my clit. I arched back again involuntarily.

"Touch me more."

"You have to tell me, Bella, tell me what you want." Bastard.

"I want your fingers inside of me. I want your fingers moving inside of me,." I closed my eyes. This was so damn hot. Without warning, he plunged a finger in and I nearly came off the bed and screamed his name. He moved his hand in time with my own gyrations. His eyes looked heavy. He squeezed one of my tits roughly and I moaned.

"How does it feel Bella?" I could feel his dick pressed against my leg, and he was moving in tandem with the motions of his hand.

"So good."

"Do you want more?"

"Yes, yes, please yes!" I felt him put another finger in. "Oh, God, Jacob yes."

"You feel so good Bella, you're so wet. Are you wet for me baby?"

"Yes, oh yes Jacob. Only you, always you." I moved my hand down under his pants and wrapped my hand around him. He let out a yell of my name. He was so warm, so thick, all I could think was…

"I want you. I want you inside me." I started moving my hand faster up and down his dick. "I want you inside me, moving inside of me. I want to feel you." He was breathing hard now, his movements matching mine. his breath was right in my ear and gave me the most amazing sensations. I knew I needed to stop, slow down, but I couldn't. I just knew I needed more.

"God, Bella, you have to stop talking like that." He was licking and sucking at my neck desperately. "I won't be able to stop." I could feel him slowly pulling my pants lower and lower.

"Don't you fucking dare stop." I had completely lost control, and it was wonderful. I released him and my hands went to his waistband. Then we were completely naked, moving against each other. The sensation was absolutely perfect. I could feel my dripping pussy coating his dick.

"So wet. So fucking warm and wet. God, Bella, are you sure?"

"Please Jacob, please don't stop, please!" This was all I wanted. As much of him as I could get. On me, in me, anywhere and everywhere. I felt him center himself, just barely sticking the tip in.

"This is going to be so fucking good." I heard him mumble before slowly sliding in. We moaned each other's name as he slid in. It was amazing, I could feel him and it felt so good. He slid out a little, and looked at me. "Hold on, ok?" I nodded and gritted my teeth as he hit back into me, breaking me forever. I sucked in a breath as the sting came, but as he moved, it quickly subsided, and I felt him moving more freely. I relaxed and started moaning again from the movement.

"Oh, Jacob, oh God, yes. Oh Jacob.."

"Oh Bella….so fucking good….Bella…"

He started moving faster, as did our breathing. I felt it coming again, that feeling, that wonderfully tight feeling, my moans changed to yells, and then to screams as the pleasure came to a head and burst inside of me.

"Oh, God, Bella….Bella baby, baby I'm gonna….."

And he screamed my name as he gripped my hair, jerking erratically on top of me. When he slowed, he collapsed to the side, but still held onto me. We both laid there letting our breath slow to a normal rate. After a few minutes of silence, I was worried he would think I regretted it, but I didn't. I rolled over on my side facing him and cuddled into his side.

"So I guess you're okay then." He said with a smile.

"Absolutely. Are you?" I didn't think to consider him in all of this. He's a guy, I assumed this was what he wanted, but it was his first time too, so maybe….

"I am so much more than ok right now." He said with a laugh. I sighed with relief.

"Good. I know that was a lot faster than we probably should have-"

"Hey." He said sitting up looking at me. "Don't start with all that, you'll talk yourself into regretting it, which...you don't do you?"

"No! No, definitely not. Do you?"

"Do I look like a guy who would regret sex with the woman of his dreams?"

"Your porn stash says no."

"Hey! I got rid of all that!"

"No, you got replaced the old with new. I'm not stupid, Black."

"You should be happy I have all that porn, otherwise I may have stuck it in your ear."

We died laughing. This is what made us perfect, we obviously had a great physical relationship, but then, we still had a perfect mix of the fun stuff too. After getting showered and dressed, we cuddled in bed before falling asleep.

"Jake?" I mumbled, half asleep.

"Hmm?"

"Who would be the girl of your dreams?"

"What?"

"You said 'sex with the girl of your dreams', what would she be like?"

"You're crazy, you know that."

"C'mon, I promise not to laugh."

"It's you, moron."

"No really."

"Really. It's always been you Bells. You're my best friend. I can talk to you about anything, I can be myself around you, and I don't have to tone it down, watch myself, I can just relax around you. With everyone else, I have standards I feel like I'm expected to meet. You have never judged me for things I've said or done. Not to mention you have a bangin body, you're smart as hell, and you can cook better than anyone I've ever known. You're it Bells, you're the whole package."

"I love you Jake." I didn't mean to say it, but it just came out. I felt his body tighten around me for a second, and I wondered if I should take it back. Then he relaxed, leaned down and kissed me.

"I love you too, my Bella." He said so softly I almost didn't hear him.

I fell asleep that night into the most peaceful and relaxing sleep I may have ever had.


	9. Chapter 9

Tuesday was just a wasted day. I was walking around on cloud nine all day, especially after riding to school with Jake, and having him kiss me goodbye. Nothing and no one bothered me. Well, not until Bio. I honestly thought I was gonna make it through the entire class without stupid Cullen talking to me.

"Isabella, we really need to talk about our project." He said right after the bell rang. I was actually a little surprised to hear the edge to his voice, but I still didn't acknowledge him, and continued walking right out of class. But I knew he was right, we really couldn't claim it was a 'joint' project if each of our parts didn't flow together.

"Just make sure if you have to go somewhere outside the school, you go somewhere neutral, although I don't see why you can't just go to the library during lunch." Ben, Angela and I were sitting on a bench in the courtyard after school discussing my issue with meeting with Creepy, possibly psychotic, Cullen.

"The two of you can talk about what you planned on doing, then find some middle ground so that there is some kind of uniformity. You're right, you can't go in there with two completely different projects." I made a sour face, but nodded and she laughed. "Really Bella, I know he's weird, but with the exception of you, his family pretty much keeps to themselves. You seem to be a magnet for them." I cringed at the thought.

"I'm just trying to figure out why you don't tell Jake. I mean, if this was Angela, and some guy was messing with her like that….." Ben grumbled.

"That's exactly why I'm not ready to tell him. I know he's pretty laid back, but I think in this situation he would just completely lose his cool, just like you would if someone was messing with Angela. I have no doubt who would win in a fight between him and Cullen, but I also have no doubt that it would land him in jail since he's already eighteen."

"Hmm, that's true. But you know he's gonna be pissed when he finds out you kept this from him." Ben pointed out.

"Yeah, I know. I'm kinda hoping I can just take care of this myself though." I grumbled. I didn't want to be one of those people that ran to their boyfriends like a damsel in distress, in fact Jake had always made a point that I needed to fight my own battles.

I remember our freshman year, Lauren had been giving me crap for awhile, and I just kept to myself and ignored her until finally Jacob blew up at me, said he didn't know how much longer he could sit back and listen to her treat me that way. He told me he had purposely not done anything because he knew he couldn't be there all the time to fight my battles for me, so I needed to start standing up for myself. So I did. I gave her one warning, which was more than I had ever done before, and then punched her right in the mouth the next time she ran it. I still smile when I remember the look on her face when I hit her. Even though she still didn't ignore me as much as I liked, she stopped for the most part after that.

"Some things you don't need to take care of on your own. You _shouldn't_ take care of it on your own." Ben said seriously. I grimaced, knowing he was right. This wasn't the same as the Lauren thing, this actually might be a whole lot worse. But my little black cloud vanished as soon as I heard the familiar rumble of Jake's bike.

"There's that goofy smile." Ben laughed as we stood up. We walked down to meet him in the parking lot. Jacob pulled me into a hug and gave me a deep kiss.

"Um, eww. We don't want to see that." Angela teased.

"Whatever, _we've _had to watch you and Ben for years, I think you can deal with a little PDA from us." Jake snarked back at her with a smile. Angela stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

"Anyway, I got a voicemail earlier that they already got your part in and I figured you would like your car back."

"Absolutely! We can stop at the diner for dinner too, that way I don't have to fix dinner tonight when we get back."

"Sounds good! We'll meet you guys at the diner." Ben said, wrapping an arm around Angela.

"I'm never going to get anything done." Angela complained as they left.

After dinner, the four of us went back to my car in the parking lot, so Ben could help Jake.

"This is turning out as bad as last night." Angela grumbled. "My paper is never gonna get done!" I flushed at the memory of the night before. "What was that?"

"Huh?"

"You went red when I mentioned last night." She smirked at me. "Why was it you were so out of it today?" I looked away from her started fumbling with the zipper on my jacket, forcing my smile off my face.

"I just wasn't feeling right, I guess. My mind was…...elsewhere." I looked up and her face was right in front of mine.

"You know you can't lie to me Swan. Spill." I narrowed my eyes at her, knowing she was right. I was going to tell her eventually, I just figured I would have more time to digest it myself.

"Jake spent the night last night." I rushed out.

"And that's different how? Oh, wait, OH! Oh wow." She just sat there smirking at me.

"What?"

"I'm torn. I don't know whether I should be happy that you're finally happy, or worried because you're moving so fast."

"I know. I'm feeling the same way." I scrunched up my nose.

"You're not thinking of running are you." Suddenly her smile was gone and she honestly looked scared.

"No way! Absolutely not. I just, I'm worried that now that I'm in too deep." I looked up through the windshield at Jacob bent over the engine, the muscles in his face and arms moving smoothly as he worked, and I wondered how someone so rugged could still be so beautiful.

"Umm, I'm not following."

I sighed. I hated to admit this, because it made me sound so weak and pathetic, but I had to remember, this was Angela.

"Remember how I had said before that I was afraid of starting anything with him because I didn't want to lose the friendship."

"Oh God. Bella..." She pinched the bridge of her nose.

"No wait, listen to what I'm saying. This is just so much better than everything before, it really is absolutely perfect. I just….I can't be without him now."

"Well, who says you will?"

"Come on Ange, we're only eighteen."

"Do you love him?"

"It's a little early for love isn't it?" I already knew the answer though.

"Well I would have thought it was a little early for last night too, but…"

"Ugh. Yes, ok! Yes, of course."

"Does he love you?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"Bella." She cocked her head at me.

"I don't know, maybe, probably…"

"You need to tell him."

"What?"

"Tell him how you feel."

"I kinda did last night."

"Kinda?"

"It kinda slipped out."

"Well what did he say?"

"He said it back but…I was kind of half asleep when I said it. I think he thinks that I don't remember. And I'm not sure how to bring it up."

"Well, ok then. So you _know_ how he feels, now he's just waiting on you to confirm how he _thinks _you feel." She grabbed my hands away from my zipper and made me look up. "Honestly, what are you afraid of?"

I opened my mouth to tell her when I heard the hood drop on my car..

"We'll finish this later." She whispered as the guys came back to the car. Jacob opened my door and pulled me out.

"Ok, she should be all set." He said handing me the keys. "Start her up and we'll see."

And of course it started right up, sounding just as smooth as ever.

"Alright Bells, we're out. Angie's gotta get her beauty sleep." Ben joked, which earned him a swift elbow to the ribs. They waved and backed out of the parking lot.

"I'll follow you back to the house. Just in case." Jake winked at me. I rolled my eyes and pulled out of the lot with him close behind.

I thought about Angela's last question. _What was I afraid of_? I really didn't know. We were happy, really happy. Why was I so concerned about losing him. Was it because I loved him? What good is love if you're always worried about losing the other one? Maybe we needed to talk about all this, just the two of us. So far, all my talking had been to Angela, and while that was therapeutic, it didn't give me the solid answers I needed. Just some insight.

He followed me wordlessly into the house, and as soon as the door closed behind me, he spun me around and pulled me flush against him.

"Do you have any idea how much I missed you today?" He mumbled with a smile.

"I think I have an idea." I smirked back, and then kissed him hard as his hand came up to grip my head and neck. He spun us around, pushing me up against the door, never breaking the kiss. My hands wandered up his arms and down his back, and then he caught my wrists and pulled them both over my head, holding them there, while he moved to start kissing and sucking my neck behind my ear. I moaned out his name, and he responded grinding himself into me, which only made my moaning multiply. I lifted up one of my legs to wrap around him, trying to anchor him closer while still relieving the desire I had for him to be right where I wanted him. He released my wrists and slowly ran his hands down my side. One hand hooked under the leg I had lifted, spreading me wider. He angled us where I was rubbing right up against him, and I threw my head back with a moan of his name. He started kissing me again, and I was lost in his taste. I found myself once again unable to get enough of him. I felt my pants loosen and then tighten as he dipped his hand down.

"Fuck Bella, you're so damn wet." He started rubbing circles around my clit. He would stop to slowly dip just the tip of his finger into me, and then go back to circling again. He was driving me mad, and I thought I was going to pass out when he started slowing down. "Tell me Bella, tell me what you want."

"Damn it, you know what I fucking want." I was trying so hard to grind myself into his hand, but he was to worst kind of tease.

"Come on baby." He whispered in my ear. "How can I know if you don't tell me?"

"I want…..oh..I want you touching me….touching my clit." And he did, but painfully slow. "Oh God, yes, faster, please Jake." And he did, he was moving fast against it, still slipping one or two fingers inside me.

"God Bella, do you know how beautiful you are when you cum? Do you know how fucking beautiful it sounds when you're screaming my name?" I was so close to coming, but I wanted to take him with me.

"Jacob, I can't without you, I can't cum without you. Please Jacob, I need you, I need you inside of me." He caught me in a bruising kiss as I felt him pull my pants down. Then he lifted me up and pinned me to the door again, as he slowly slid himself in me. We both cried out from the pleasure. I wrapped my legs around him tight as he started moving, pushing against me. I grabbed onto his hair, arching myself up into him, and he caught a nipple and started sucking. I could feel that building again, that feeling that I just could never get enough of.

"Oh Jacob, Oh God, Jacob! Oh, Jacob!" I screamed as I exploded. He continued pushing into me, harder and faster until he was screaming my name along with some other garbled nonsense. We stood there, catching our breaths, and he let me slide down him, but kept me pinned upright, which was good since I wasn't sure if I could actually stand otherwise. Once our heart rate and breathing calmed, he helped me up the stairs, and we took a long shower together, just kissing and touching.

Later that night, I had a horrible nightmare.

I was somewhere dark, I couldn't see anything, but I could hear someone breathing.

'_Isabella…..'_

That voice, that sickeningly sweet voice. The next words spoke much closer, right in my ear.

'_You're mine.'_

I woke up screaming, with Jake trying to calm me down. He asked me what it was, but all I would say was that I had heard a voice. He held me on his chest until my breathing slowed, and a finally fell back asleep, listening to his heartbeat.

The next morning he dropped me off at school, which unfortunately caused a scene, which Jacob apparently didn't mind since he pulled me in for a long kiss. I swore I was gonna kill him later, but he just laughed and rode off, promising to pick me up later.

"So did you talk to him yet?" Angela prodded.

"No, I'm just afraid of…"

"Geeze Swan, you're hopeless. Anyway, you think you guys will be up for a double date this weekend?'

"Probably, I don't think we had any plans, none that I know of anyway."

"Do you think you two could make it through a two hour movie without groping each other?"

"Angela! You know I can't make any promises about that!" We both laughed, which got us a sharp look from the teacher. He couldn't be too mad though, we turned in our papers a whole day early, thanks to working through lunch period the past two , we were nerds like that.

The next night, the four of us ended up in Port Angeles, walking around the little downtown shops. I managed to talk them out of the movie, just because I honestly didn't think we could really sit in a dark room for two hours without touching. It was hard enough when people were around. As we were walking back from the bookstore, I had that same feeling I had the night I had saw the face outside the window. That extremely unsettling feeling someone was watching me. I scanned around us, but didn't see anything or anyone out of the ordinary. I pushed farther into Jake's side.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, just had a feeling someone was watching us."

He swiveled his head around to look, but apparently didn't see anything either. He kissed my head and we continued following Angela and Ben. The feeling still didn't go away, but I felt safe with Jacob.

That night I had another damn nightmare. That's what I'm calling it anyway. Jacob and I were asleep, and I woke up to a cold chill, which was extremely odd since I usually was drenched from sleeping beside the human heater over there. I tried to turn to see if the window was open, but it was like I was being held in place.

"_Isabella…" _

I started trembling and hyperventilating. I could see Jake, was staring right at him, was laying less than six inches away, but I couldn't get my voice to work right to scream for him.

"_You are mine, my love, don't ever forget that_."

And then I was free. I flipped over to see no one behind me, but the window was opened, and I could have swore I saw something move past it. I did the only thing I could think of. I screamed.

The next day we decided to hang out on the rez. I tried to tease him that he just wanted to get some sleep at his house since my restless nights had been keeping him awake as well. He didn't really find it that funny. He was seriously worried. Which I guess I didn't blame him, really I don't know if I had had any nightmares since the ones I had after my father had died, so yeah, I guess it was odd. He had asked me over and over what had happened, and I finally told him the words I was hearing, and that the last time I had felt like I had been held down and couldn't move. He seemed as shaken as I was, but come on, it's just a dream, right?

I ended up going to see Leah while Jake hung out with his dad for awhile, We talked for awhile, and I ended up telling her everything with Cullen and my car, and now I was having nightmares because of it.

"And, lemme guess. You haven't said squat to Jake about this."

"Nope. I just think it would be better to wait until-"

"What? Wait until this prick has done something? Wait until h';s cornered you somewhere? Wait until he's dragged you off into the woods somewhere? Come on Bells, you can't be this stupid!"

"I know, but first of all, not only do I have to face this guy in class, I have to work with him on a project, and-"

"Woah, woah, woah. You have to work with him? Like outside of class?"

"I haven't yet, but I'm going to have to. Up until now he's just been annoying, but now, I don't know, it's starting to go way past creepy. But then again, I don't know anything for sure. This could all be in my head. Maybe I've imagined this whole thing."

"Bells, no offence, but you are probably the least creative person I've ever met. And I don't think you've ever overreacted about anything. If this is actually concerning you, then it's serious. How do you think Jake's gonna feel when he finds out you've been keeping this from him?"

"Ugh, I know. But I also don't want him flying off the handle and tracking this guy down either. Who knows what he would do to him."

"Yeah, that's true. Well, I don't know, but you gotta tell him."

"I know, I know."

And I did need to tell him. She was right, he was already going to be hurt I didn't come to him before now, I needed to take care of it today, but probably wait til he took me home. No need to start anything at his dad's house.

We got home and Jake followed me silently inside. I think he could tell something was up.

"Jake, I need to tell you something." I said hesitantly as I sat down at the kitchen table. He followed and sat down beside me. He looked as nervous as I felt for some reason. He started fidgeting with the empty mug that had been left there from earlier. I didn't know exactly how to start this, so I just took a deep breath and started from the day my car was vandalised, how Cullen had been just normal annoying earlier that day, pressuring me to work on our project with him, but then how he was out at my car with me when it wouldn't start, like he was waiting on me. Jacob's eyes were focused on the center of the table, his jaw clenched. The kitchen was completely silent until I heard the sound of the mug shattering in Jacob's hands. My eyes went wide as I saw the pieces fall from his grip.

"Jake, please, you have to calm down."

"The hell Bella!" He roared as he jumped up. "Why wouldn't you tell me that you knew who did that to your car?"

"Because I didn't know!" I yelled back, although my raised voice was more like a kitten compared to his lion's roar. "I can't just go around accusing people of things like that without anything solid. Besides, based on the way you're acting now, I'm pretty sure he would have ended up in the hospital if-"

"Damn straight! If I didn't kill him first." Woah, this was not my Jacob. I'm not sure if I even knew this person standing in my kitchen. I stood up to face him.

"Jacob Ephraim Black, what is the matter with you? Have you lost your mind?"

He looked at me with hard eyes, and turned away from me, breathing hard. Suddenly I heard another roar, and his fist flew through the pantry door. A sick feeling hit me.

_Random fits of anger..._

"Jacob." I said softly. "Please calm down, you're scaring me." I saw his shoulders visibly tense, and he turned to me with a scared look on his face.

"Oh my God, Bella, I'm so sorry….I don't know what…." He faltered and looked down to his balled fists and forced them open. I walked timidly toward him.

"Jake…" I reached out and touched his arm, and gasped.

_Fever spikes..._

"Jake, you're burning up." I rasped. I don't know if he heard me or just ignored me, but he just walked past me and collapsed into a chair at the table, cradling his head in his hands. I got him some ice water, and sat silently as he drank.

"I can't lose you Bells." He whispered. "I just got you, I can't…"

"Jake, you aren't going to lose me! Where is this coming from?" He didn't answer, just stared at his water glass. I couldn't figure out why he would think he would lose me, none of this had to do with us. He finally stood up slowly, his chair scraping loudly against the floor.

"I guess I should go ahead and go." He mumbled, his eyes never once reaching mine. He slowly turned and walked out to the foyer to get his coat and keys. I could feel my brain screaming at me to do something, say something. I couldn't let him leave, not like this. What if something happened to him? What if he didn't make it home? Was this really how I wanted things left between us? The only thing that stopped the thoughts from bombarding my head was the roar of the bike outside.

"Jake!" I yelled as I ripped the front door open, but he couldn't hear me. I ran out as he was rolling forward and he stopped. I motioned for him to take his helmet off, and when he did I pulled him to me and kissed him hard.

"I love you." I said looking him in eyes. He stopped and stared at me, not in fear, but almost like he was trying to make sure I was telling the truth. Then he pulled me into a bruising kiss that took my breath away. It reminded me of one of our first kisses there on the porch when we just couldn't get enough of each other. We broke apart several minutes later, breathing heavy.

"I love you too, Bells. So damn much." I pulled him back to me for another kiss. I couldn't let him go now, and he was thinking the same thing.

"Please let me stay." He said between kisses.

"God, yes, please stay with me."

"Always."

And I pulled him off the bike and back into the house.

I woke up in the middle of the night to Jacob moaning and thrashing in bed. Thinking it was just a bad dream, I reached over to put a hand on his arm, and immediately jerked it away. I turned on the lamp and saw he was drenched. No wonder, he felt like he was running a fever of at least a hundred and five. He rocked back and forth, and I got a cold wet washcloth and touched it to his head. He relaxed a bit under it, but soon he had his teeth clenched and was thrashing again. And he was still asleep.

"Jake." I tried gently rousing him. How he was still asleep through all that was extremely worrying. "Jake, babe, wake up." He continued thrashing and jerking, and his moans got louder and more pained. I started calling his name louder, and he still wouldn't wake up. I went to go wet the washcloth again, and as I came back in I heard him moan my name.

"Bella…"

"I'm right here Jake, I'm right here."

"Bella…..help me, please!" My heart broke for him. I laid the washcloth on his forehead and picked up the phone to call the ambulance when I heard a pounding on the door downstairs.

_It's 3:30am and my boyfriend's getting ready to stroke, but sure, why not have visitors? _

I didn't even think to be cautious, I was too worried about Jake. I opened the door and actually wasn't as surprised as I should have been to see them.

"Where is he?" Sam demanded evenly.

"No, first, you tell me what's going on." My voice wasn't as steady as I thought it would be. I was terrified.

"Not now Bella, we don't have time." As if on cue Jacob screamed out upstairs, a cry so painful, my knees nearly buckled. I looked at Sam and knew I had no choice.

"Please just help him." I said as my voice broke. The tears fell as the five of them climbed the stairs. Jacob's screams and cries became more frequent and pained. I clenched my eyes shut against the sound and dug the heels of my hands into my temples. I wanted to block it out, but at the same time absorb it, in hopes of taking some of it away. I had promised to protect him from what was happening, and I had failed. They carried him down the stairs, struggling as he thrashed against them. He arched sharply and screamed out and I nearly lost it. As much as it hurt me just to see him like this, I couldn't imagine what _he_ was going through. He reached out and grabbed my arm as they went by, even though his eyes were still jammed shut.

"Bella!" He half whimpered and half screamed. "Bella please stay with me."

"Stop Sam, please. Please don't take him, I-"

"This is not up for debate, we have to take him now!" He nearly yelled at me, and jerked Jacob's hand away from me, which caused Jake to let out the most terrifying sound I had ever heard. It was something between a scream and an animalistic roar.

"We need to get him into the woods, NOW!" Sam ordered. And they rushed off with him into the woods behind my house. I could still hear Jacob's screams, but they were fading quickly. I finally let loose a sob and collapsed onto the porch. What had just happened? My whole body shook between my crying and the cold air, but I didn't even care. I jerked my head up when I felt a warm hand gently wrap around my arm, pulling me up.

"C'mon Bells, let's get you inside. It's way too cold for you out here." Embry said softly. His eyes looked sad, but he had a soft smile on his face. I let him lead me inside without a word. All my fight was gone. He sat me down on the bottom stair in the foyer.

"I can't stay, I need to go help the guys, but please know, we will take care of him."

I looked up at his blurry form through my tears as he retreated out my door. I fell into another crying jag. I was completely lost. He was gone. He had been taken away from me just like Leah said.

Leah.

I looked at the clock. It was already quarter til 5. The pounding in my head testified that I had indeed been crying for an hour or so. I didn't care if she was gonna get pissed, she would get over it. I had to call her cell seven times before she finally answered.

"Yeah." She said groggily.

"Leah." My voice cracked.

"Bella? Bella, what's wrong?" She was suddenly very alert.

"He's….he's gone. Jake's gone. They took him." And I blubbered out all the details of what had happened.

"I'm so sorry Bells. Maybe….maybe Jake will be different. Maybe he'll be stronger, more stubborn."

"I just don't get it, he hasn't been anywhere near those guys for days at least, he couldn't have been drugged. Leah, it was horrible. I can't even explain it, I have never seen anyone in as much pain as he was in. I just don't know what could cause that."

"Has his behavior been any different?"

"No, not actually, he got really mad last night, more so than I had ever seen him. But there wasn't any kind of outburst or anything, and he calmed down pretty quick."

"I don't know Bells, it sounds similar, but not exactly the same as Sam. I'll try to keep my eyes and ears open to see if I can find anything out. If you need me to come over, or if you want to crash here for awhile, you know you can."

"Thanks. I really appreciate it. Right now, I just want to..." And I fell into another fit of sobs. Leah was at my house an hour later, armed with Nyquil. She said it was the only way she could get any sleep when Sam left, and I didn't argue. After sleeping till about 5pm, I started feeling ashamed of myself. He didn't leave me, he was taken. Pretty much against his will, and I was already rolling over claiming defeat? Oh hell no. I picked up the phone to call Billy, knowing I would be able to tell if he was lying most likely. Leah was anxious to hear how this would play out.

"Oh, hey Bella." He suddenly sounded very tired, and I lost a bit of my fire.

"Listen Billy, I don't know what's going on over there, and I'm sure I'm not supposed to know, but _you _already know that Jacob was hauled out of here last night by Sam and his henchman.

"Bella, Jacob is sick, they were just trying to-"

"And how exactly did they know he was sick? How did they know to show up at my house at 3:30 in the morning? And they didn't call an ambulance, or drive him to the hospital, they took him out into the woods. I don't care what you want to say, or how you want to spin it, there is something going on." I stopped but Billy didn't say anything.

"Billy," I said in a softer tone, "I just need to know if he's ok." Billy sighed on the other end.

"Bella, I promise you. Jacob is fine."

I hung up with Billy, believing him when he said Jacob was fine, but still extremely uneasy about what exactly was going on with the Quileutes. Leah talked me out of going to school the next day, and she drove us over to her house. Once she explained to her mom what had happened, Sue allowed Leah to stay home with me too. We slept late Monday and decided to just lounge around all day. I was torn between telling myself everything was fine and I would hear from Jacob soon, and being terrified that I would suffer the same fate that Leah had. I finally decided I needed to get out of the house, and after my last run through the woods, I definitely wasn't going alone this time.

Leah and I used to run and hike all the time, she was the perfect partner. She preferred running through the forest like I did, but she kept to herself and didn't try to talk to me during runs. It was a type of therapy for both of us. We went up through the woods behind her house. She let me lead since I was the one who needed to burn off some energy, and though I knew she would probably kill me later, I wasn't planning on this being a short run. Not only did I need to clear out my insanely gummed up head, but I needed to wear myself out to sleep tonight. We had ran about three miles when I heard her yell over.

"Alright wonder woman, it's starting to get dark, we need to head back. I stopped and we were huffing pretty hard.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

"Yeah, I got that. I don't even know where we are Swan."

"I guess we just head back the way we came?"

"The way you were winding around, there's no way to tell." She stopped and tried to get a look at where the sun would be if not covered by clouds. "Come on, I think we need to go this way." I followed her as she cut left and wound us back around. After another half mile I saw a break in the trees and we headed toward it, but it wasn't what we were looking for.

"Damn it, it's just a clearing." She cursed.

"Aren't indians supposed to be better at directions?" She flipped me the bird and walked out towards the middle. "This isn't good Swan, I don't recognize this place at all." I jogged over to where she stood. The sky was getting darker. "I can't believe you got us so lost."

"You should have said something dummy, you know I'm not thinking straight." I joked back, but there was very little humor in either of our voices. We had never gotten lost in all the years we had went running, but then again, we usually had much more daylight than we had this afternoon. I looked up trying to find the sun, or a lighter part of gray. Leah grabbed my arm.

"Did you hear that?"

I listened, and from one side of the clearing, I heard what she was referring to. There was the sound of movement, a lot of movement. Large movement.

"That sounds like…."

"...a bear." She said finishing my sentence.

"I forget, which one are we supposed to fight, and which one are we supposed to play dead?" I whispered.

A low growl came from that side.

"How about we just run?" Leah offered

"Even better."

And we were gone. Unfortunately we made too much noise, and we could hear whatever it was following after us. We ran back down through the woods, and could always hear it just behind us, though we never saw it. There were a couple times when it rounded around to the front of us and we would have to take off in another direction. Just as I thought my lungs were going to burst, we broke through the tree line, right behind Leah's house. I couldn't believe our luck. She ran ahead and vaulted up onto the back deck, and reached down and pulled me up. We stood there catching our breath, watching the tree line for the bear, or bears, to come through, but they never did.

"What, did they give up?" Leah huffed.

"Don't know….don't care." And I headed inside for some desperately needed water.

"Do me a favor Swan," Leah said, still out of breath, as we stretched out on the living room floor. "Don't ever ask me to go running again."

"Deal."


	10. Chapter 10

I ended up going home that night, knowing I needed to get up and go to school the next day. Even though mine and Leah's earlier rendezvous with the great outdoors had wiped me out, I still couldn't fall asleep without the aid of my trusty Nyquil. Unfortunately, though Nyquil may bring sleep, it doesn't keep the nightmares away. I had several, and in each one, Jake was ripped away from me and replaced with a 'new' Jacob, short haired and shirtless, just Sam and the rest of the guys look, but he didn't know who I was anymore. I woke up several times screaming his name, and fell back asleep crying. The pain in my chest felt like someone was ripping me apart. It didn't help that the wolves outside were unusually active too. I heard them howling all night, and I know it was all in my head, but I swear they sounded as sad and lost as I felt.

Between getting no sleep, and the emotional seesaw I had been riding, I was a zombie all day. Which actually made my absence the day before that much more believable.

"Bella, seriously, are you ok?" I hated to not be honest with Angela, but I didn't really know how to explain it all.

_Well, Jake nearly died Saturday night, and then this crazy cult from the rez came and dragged him off into the woods, I haven't heard anything since then, and I may or may not see him again._

That's how people get sent to the looney bin.

"I don't know, maybe it's the flu or something. Don't get too close." She looked at me like she didn't believe me, but let it go. She knew if it was bad enough to not tell her about, then no amount of guilting was going to get it out of me. My behavior in bio shocked me even more.

"Hello Isabella."

"Hey Edward."

I still didn't look at him, but when I realized I didn't even have the energy to be rude, I knew it was bad.

"What happened? You look like…"

"Death warmed over? Thanks, I feel it too. I don't know, maybe it's the flu."

"You don't smell sick."

And there's my warning flag.

"Excuse me?" I turned to look at him, mustering what energy I could to give him the craziest look. He looked shocked for a minute, but then explained.

"I just mean, usually people have a...smell. You know, like bad breath, odd body odor, some kind of difference in chemicals in their pheromones. It's a natural reaction animals have when they're sick, it's to either deter predators, or attract them, depending on the species."

I had no idea if that was accurate, but it sounded right, and I really didn't care.

"And you can smell that, the _chemical difference in pheromones_."

"Yes, and I bet if you paid enough attention, you would be able to smell it too."

I shook my head. What a weirdo.

Class started and once again I was alone with my thoughts. School hadn't been the distraction I had expected. All I could think of was, what was he doing now? Was he still in pain or was Billy right, and he was fine? Had he went through whatever change it was that the rest of them had? Was Leah right about him being able to stand up to them? Why hadn't he tried to contact me? After what felt like was just ten minutes, the bell rang. I put my unused notebook back in my bag.

"Isabella."

I turned and looked at him. Again, he looked taken by surprise.

"We really do need to work on our project, even if it's just one day."

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, we do. How about we meet at the library after school.'

"Why don't we just go over to my house?"

"No, we can do it here. I'll be in there after school." And I hurried out without giving him a chance to argue.

Somehow I had made it to seventh period. Angela and I sat down without a word, and she slipped me a note.

'_I know you're not sick, but something really bad has happened, and the only thing I know of that can upset you this bad is Jake. I hope this isn't a result of what we talked about the other night, I was really only trying to help. I don't know what happened this weekend, but despite what may have been said, or not said, he loves you Bells, maybe more than even me or you could imagine. I have never seen anyone look at anyone else the way he looks at you.' _Damn Angela and her insight. My chest burned and throbbed in pain, and I was frustrated with the unlimited source of tears I seem to be producing lately. '_And no matter what you say, I know you love him just as much. You look at him the same way he looks at you. Your worlds revolve around each other, and I don't know how you two have gone so long without each other.' _

"Mrs Swan, do you need to be excused?" Mr Stark asked politely. I nodded furiously with tears pouring down my face, and grabbed my stuff and ran out to the parking lot. I couldn't do it, I couldn't make it through one more class. It was just too hard. I sat in my car and cried harder than I had cried since my father's funeral. I barely heard the tapping on the passenger window. I unlocked the door and Angela sat down silently.

"Bella, I am so sorry…" I saw a tear run down her face.

"Oh Angela, no! No, I swear, you had nothing to do with this. Actually I ended up telling him Saturday night and everything was great. Something else happened though." I ended up telling her something similar to the truth. Just that there had been something regarding his tribe that had forced us apart, that it was extremely sudden and I wasn't told anything about what it involved. (And for all I knew, that was the truth.) I explained the same thing had happened to Leah and Sam, and ended up permanently tearing them apart, and I was terrified that was going to happen with Jake.

"Oh Bella, he's going to be ok. And maybe Leah is right, maybe whatever is going on, he'll be stronger than that."

"Angela, please don't tell anyone about this. I only told you because, well, it's you. But don't even tell Ben right now. I don't know what it is, and I don't want a bunch of rumors and untruths flying around."

"Don't worry, I swear I won't tell him, or anyone else. But please come to me if you need to talk, or if you find out anything else."

We sat in my car for the rest of the period.

"I guess I better go meet Cullen, go ahead and get it over with."

"You want me to come with you?"

"Nah, he won't try anything in the library."

"Text me later?"

"Yeah. Go finish up on your english essay."

"Psh, girl please. That thing is done."

"Great, do mine then."

"You wish, then maybe you would have a chance at a good grade." We laughed lightly at ourselves as we climbed out of the car. She went off to look for Ben, and I headed to the library.

"Hey Mrs Cope." I tried to fake some cheer in her direction.

"Hi honey, listen, I'm glad you're here, I have got to go pick up Elizabeth from the sitter and get her to the doctor, she's running a fever. Do you care to close up shop for me here?"

"No problem." said as she walked out. I went to one of the back tables to hide out until Cullen showed up. I didn't realize I had fell asleep until he woke me up.

"Hello Isabella." I opened my eyes and he was a few inches from my face. I gasped and jumped back and he chuckled.

"Damn it Cullen, are you trying to master your creep skills or something?" He laughed again, only it wasn't a real laugh, more like a polite chuckle. Very annoying. I went ahead and pulled out my phone and flipped to the pictures.

"Ok, so this is what my visual looks like, I figured we need to have some kind of uniformity to our visuals as much as possible." He glanced at the pictures.

"Ok." And he looked back at me.

"Ok…..so what do I need to change to make mine look more like yours."

"Nothing." He said smugly.

"Nothing." I restated.

"Nope." He had a ghost of a smirk on his face.

"Ok, so what do we need to discuss then about the project?" I was quickly losing my patience.

"I think we'll be ok. I have to be honest, I really just wanted to spend some alone time with you outside of class, although this really isn't what I had in mind, but I'll take what I can get at this point."

"Are you kidding me?" I was fuming. "I knew this would be a complete waste of my time." I said as I slammed my stuff back into my bag.

"Isabella, I'd much rather get to know you than talk about some silly biology project." I slammed my fist on the table.

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" I huffed and grabbed my stuff and marched out to the desk to shutdown the computers. Screw him. I can't believe I tried to be decent towards him. I don't even care if our projects match. In fact, I have half a mind to change my whole project to plant cell structure. Ugh, he was making me crazy. I finished up and was walking out the door when he caught my wrist with his cold hand, and I gasped and jerked away from him.

"Don't you touch me Edward Cullen! Once this project is over, I'll make sure I never have to speak to you again. I want nothing to do with you, so from now on stay the hell away from me!"

I spun on my heel to get out of there, but before I had a chance he had grabbed me by my arms and had me slammed up against the wall hard, his face inches from mine, expressing a look that absolutely terrified me.

"Now you listen to me, little girl. I have put up with your attitude long enough." His grip tightened and pain shot down both my arms. I shook with fear and tears escaped through my clenched eyes, not wanting to look at him. "I have waited for you far too long to play your little games." He shook me as he screamed. "LOOK AT ME!" But I couldn't, I was so scared at what I would see when my eyes opened.

"EDWARD!" I heard a female yell from across the lobby.

"Not now Rosie." He seethed. I could feel his breath on my face, and a small sob escaped me.

"Yes. Now." I heard a gruff voice right beside me, and felt Edward release my arms as I fell to the ground. I looked up and a guy had Edward by the neck. Another cold hand wrapped around my wrist, much more gentle than Edward had been, and pulled me away from the scene.

"Get out of here." The blonde said evenly. I nodded dumbly and ran. You didn't have to tell me twice. I didn't stop until I was in my car with the doors locked. I just sat staring out the windshield, trying to comprehend what just happened.

My first instinct was to call Jacob, but I doubted I could even get hold of him, and that thought cause the pain to burn through my chest once more. I ended up driving over to Angela's house. Ben was furious, and insisted I go to the cops about this. He even tried calling Jake himself after I told him I couldn't bring myself to do it, but it went straight to voicemail. They drove me down to the station, and I filed a report. They seemed very surprised since apparently the Cullen kids had never been in any trouble before, not even as much as a speeding ticket. But once they saw where the bruises were already forming on my arms, they were immediately convinced, and would send a unit out at once to question the boy. Unfortunately, outside of the couple that got me away from him, which Angela had concluded from my description earlier that they must have been Emmett Cullen and Rosalie Hale, there were no other witnesses, and all the police could do was try to scare Cullen away from me for now. Ben was not happy with that, and expressed as much on the way back to Angela's house. I ended up spending the night there after her parents insisted.

The next day, Angela and Ben stuck by me like glue. I was terrified of running into Cullen, knowing the cops had visited him the night before. As angry as he got just from a simple rejection, I didn't even want to think of how mad he would be about me going to the police. They both walked with me to bio, which may have been to make sure I actually went. I was shaking so much by the time I got there, and so nervous I thought I might vomit.

_Maybe if I throw up all over him, he actually will leave me alone._

Fortunately it didn't seem like I would get the chance. Angela stood outside with me while Ben peeked his head in.

"He's not in there."

"Really?"

"Why would I lie?"

I rolled my eyes at him, and looked at my empty table, and felt myself release the breath I had been holding in.

"Keep your phone handy and text either of us if you need to." Angela said before hugging me. I walked in, and for the first time maybe all year, actually enjoyed bio.

Mr Hall stopped me after class.

"Mrs Swan, I hate to do this, but it seems like you won't have a partner to present your project with tomorrow." And my day got slightly brighter.

"Is he sick?" _Please say he died, please say he died…_

"Actually, he's been unenrolled. Something about going to live with relatives or something."

_Good Enough!_

I clenched my teeth to stop my smile.

"Anyway, I have no worries that you did at least your half of the project, so instead of presenting tomorrow, you can just turn in what you've got, and I'll grade you solely on your half." I went ahead and smiled at that.

"Thank you so much Mr Hall!" He smiled, but then caught himself and cleared his throat.

"Of course Mrs Swan, this is a one time exception."

I nodded, catching a small smirk from him, and headed out. I couldn't wait to tell Ben and Angela. My little world, even though still dark, felt much safer than before. But then I remembered why it was dark and what little bit of happiness I had gained from the missing psychopath, was wiped away at the thought of not having my Jacob. Of course, if he had been around to hear about yesterday, I have no doubt there would be one teenager dead, and another in jail. But he always managed to make me feel safer, always fixed everything. By the time I got to our history class, I had completely forgotten about the good news I was waiting to share with Angela. Like everything else in my life, Jacob completely eclipsed everything. Usually that was a good thing.

"So you think he'll show up tomorrow?" Angela asked.

"Huh? Oh, I hope so. I keep hoping he'll text me or something. Just to tell me he's alright."

"Excuse me?" She looked horrified at my answer.

"I called his dad, and he said he would have him call me, but I still haven't heard anything."

She looked at me like I had lost my mind, but then relaxed.

"Oh wait, are you talking about Jake?"

"Of course! What did you think?"

"Oh thank God! I was talking about Cullen, you idiot."

I blanched thinking back to our conversation and applying it to _him_.

"Oh, eww, oh wow. No, no no no. Sorry, woah, that was a _huge_ misunderstanding." We laughed at our mistake.

"Ok, no, Cullen won't be back." She whipped her head and looked at me. "Mr Hall said he's been unenrolled, gone to live with family somewhere else or something."

"Seriously?"

"Yup! I guess Ben was right, that Emmett guy must have put the fear of God in him."

"I wonder if the rest of the family went too?" Angela's eyes went to the back of the class to the empty chair where Jasper usually sat.

"Don't know, don't care, I'm more worried about other things…."

"I don't see what it would hurt to call again."

"Huh? Oh, Jake. Well, when I talked to Billy, all he would tell me was that he's 'fine'. I just, I need to actually talk to Jake."

"Then do it!" She perked up with an idea. "You're a concerned girlfriend, right? Not to mention, they're technically family to you already, why wouldn't you just pop in to check on him?"

The gummed up gears in my head slowly started moving and I caught on. She was right, I had no reason to not stop by, and actually, I probably should have went by yesterday. So that was it, as soon as I got out of school, I would just simply stop by his house.

7th and 8th period absolutely crawled, and I spent the entire time trying to analyze the possible conversations that might happen. By the time I finally got into my car, I was shaking from nervousness. I had planned on driving straight past my house and onto his, but I chickened out. I told myself that I knew I would be over there late, and I needed to make sure I had everything ready for tomorrow, all our end of term stuff was due since it was the last day before winter break, and it was just too much to deal with everything tonight. Once I got home though, I realized everything was done and ready, and I was left with several of hours, sitting around doing nothing, but hating myself for not having the balls to go face Jake. Instead, I sat in the living room staring at the Christmas tree that Jake, Billy, and Rachel had helped me put up the day after Thanksgiving. My chest ached when I remembered how happy we had all been. I had to get that back, there's no way I could go without that in my life. I thought about calling Rachel, maybe she could talk some sense into him. But really, I had no right to expect anyone to help me when I wouldn't even try to talk to him myself.

That night, the nightmares amazingly stayed away. Instead I had one of those dreams you never want to wake up from. I dreamed Jake was there, snuggled up behind be, running his hand through my hair, whispering 'I love you's' to me. The pain that had been searing my chest actually seemed to ease up a bit. In fact, it seemed so real that I was actually surprised when I woke up friday morning and he wasn't there, which ended up hurting even more. And as the day went on, the hurt started to give way to anger. I was angry that I allowed myself to get so wrapped up and dependant on him, angry that Sam and his 'loyal followers' had taken him away from me, angry that Jake would allow them to take him from me, angry that Billy wouldn't explain anything to me.

I didn't know what to do, the only person I could really talk to was Leah, and she had been so burned by the whole thing, she didn't have any answers for me, all she could do was be supportive.

I always talked to Jacob about everything. Always. So what would _he_ say? If _he_ wasn't directly involved, if this were someone else, what would _he_ say?

"_You've got two choices, and one of them is not laying around feeling sorry for yourself."_

"Excuse me?"

"_You heard me Swan. Now listen, remember how scared he was when you talked about this awhile back? Obviously there is something shady going on here, and he didn't know about it, or want any part of it, so you really can't hold him to blame on this until you know exactly what's going on."_

"But there isn't anything I can do!"

"_Wrong. You can take yourself down to the rez and find out in person what's going on. Even if they won't tell you, he's gotta come home sometime, so you just wait at Billy's for him. Who knows if he'll come to see you on his own. The way Leah makes it sound, they're all brainwashed or something. If you go down there, you can find out sooner than later. What's the worst that can happen?"_

"He can tell me to go to hell."

"_Yeah, I seriously doubt that will happen. You will just be much closer to knowing the truth than you are now."_

"You said I had two options."

"_You can forget about him. Let him go. Move on with your life and find someone else."_ I clutched at my chest as pain ripped through it at the thought.

"Not an option. Ever."

"_Then there you go. You need to go down there and handle it. Go get your man back."_

"You're starting to sound a little gay."

"_This is all you babe, I'm just in your head." _

Imaginary or not, he was right. So I completely bypassed my house after school. I pushed all my nervousness away with my anger. I wasn't going to be brushed off, and I wasn't going to leave without an answer. This was Jacob. My Jacob. And damn it, I would fight for him until he didn't want me anymore. The pain flared, but I pushed it down with more anger.

I made it to the rez in record time, but didn't have to go as far as Jacob's house. I saw a group of shirtless guys walking down one of the side roads. I skidded to a stop and got out slamming my car door. They all froze when they saw me. I stalked toward them, ignoring the fact they towered over me like giants.

"Where is he?" I grounded out. Sam turned and motioned to Embry and Quil who went running off, and turned back around to face me.

"Bella, he's fine. You need to just go home." Sam said.

"You can go to hell Sam, I'm not going anywhere without some answers."

Paul grumbled out something unintelligible, but Sam held his hand out in front of Paul.

"Bella, if you can just wait a little longer-"

"NO! I have waited five days, and I'm not waiting anymore. You took him and I'm coming to get him back."

"You have no idea what you're going on about Swan!" Paul pushed past Sam and got in my face. "This is bigger than anything you could dream of, so get back in your little car, and go back to your perfect little world, and we'll-"

"Fuck you Paul! You can go to hell too!" I yelled, getting right up in his face like he did mine.

"Bella, you need to leave now." Sam said more forcefully. Jared was flanking his other side, and I knew they were trying to intimidate me to leave, and under any other circumstance it would have worked. But I was too far gone to care now.

"I said NO! I deserve an explanation!" But Paul wrapped an arm around my waist and lifted me like I was nothing, to carry me back to my car. I started screaming and kicking for him to let me go, and I swear I thought I heard him laugh, which just made me that much more mad. Suddenly from the woods behind Sam and Jared there was a terrifying roar. I had never heard anything like it. Both Paul and I froze, eyes toward the woods.

"Paul….put her down." Sam said in warning. Paul set me down on the ground, but didn't let me go.

"Bella, go get in your damn car, _now!_" Paul said behind clenched teeth. I squirmed to get free of him, but he was still trying to pull me back towards my car.

"GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF OF HER!" I heard Jake roar as he came barreling out of the treeline. He looked similar to the 'new' Jake I had seen in my nightmares. His hair was cut short, and he was shirtless, just like the rest of them. But the thing I noticed the most, he was furious, I had never seen anything like it. He was almost animalistic in his fury, but it was all towards Paul. Jake stalked toward where we were standing and Paul pushed me behind him.

"Black, you gotta calm down." Paul said. "You don't want to do this here. You don't want to hurt Bella."

"No, but if you don't get your hands off of her, I'm gonna rip you apart, limb from limb."

"Jacob!" Sam barked from behind him. Jake spun on him.

"No Sam. I told you this morning, I can't do this. You can't keep me away from her anymore."

As soon as I heard those words, I felt like I could breathe again. I tried to push past Paul again to get to him, but he held me tight. He turned to face Paul again and growled so loud that even I stepped back.

"No way, Black. There's no way I'm letting you near her." Paul said pushing me back.

"Paul! Stop it!" Sam yelled. Jacob's jaw clenched and his anger was causing him to shake.

"Really Jake? You really want to do this here? Right in front of her?" Paul asked.

"Get. Away. From her." Jake said evenly, breathing deep to calm himself.

"Paul. Let the girl go." Sam said.

"Are you out of your damn mind? He isn't stable!" Paul yelled past Jake at Sam.

"Paul! Now!" Sam said firmly. Surprisingly Paul stepped away without another word, and in the next moment I was wrapped in strong arms and lifted up off the ground. I wrapped my arms around his neck and just buried my face in his neck, and I couldn't help crying from relief that I had him back with me.

I'm not sure how long he stood there with me, but by the time I lifted my head, everyone else had gone, and it was just us. He set me down and cradled my face in his hands.

"Baby, I am so, so sorry." I closed my eyes as I absorbed his words. I remembered all the hurt he had put me through, and my breath shuddered. I opened my eyes and saw his own filling with tears, and realized that maybe he had been hurting too. I forced the lump in my throat down.

"J-just please…..please don't ever do that-"

"No, never, never again. I swear." And he pulled me in for a long, overdue kiss. I knew I should probably be mad, I should probably be yelling at him, demanding an explanation, but I was just so absolutely relieved to have him back, I didn't even care right now. I had him, and that was enough.

"I love you so much baby." He whispered into my hair. I smiled as he held me against his chest.

"I love you too Jake." He leaned back, looking down at me, then got a sad look in his eyes.

"Why don't we take a walk."


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks so much for your patience and understanding! I am much happier with this chapter, hopefully you will be too!**

**MSB**

I sat on a piece of driftwood, looking out at the rolling waves. There was very little light left in the sky, but I couldn't find the strength to head back yet. I was completely numb by what Jacob had told me. It was so much, but the longer I let it sit, the more the pieces slowly fell into place. Not that it made sense logically, young boys morphing into huge wolves, but with the legends and lore we had all heard growing up, it wasn't completely out of the blue for me. But it was still just so much to grasp, to wrap my head around. I know he was worried when he told me, worried I would want to stay away from him, and I know it didn't help when I asked for some alone time, but really, what did he think I would say?

_Oh, you're a werewolf? No problem!_

I mean, what exactly did that mean for us? He still seemed like the same person, but I had only been around him for a couple hours. From the little bit that I had seen though, he _did_ still seem like my Jacob.

_So what are you afraid of?_

"Seriously? The boy turns into a werewolf on command, and you're asking me what I'm afraid of?"

_Yeah, yeah, ok. But I'm talking about him. You're afraid he's different._

"Well, yeah. I mean what if he decides I'm not good enough for him anymore?"

_Damn, Swan. You are the queen of excuses._

"What? I think that's a pretty legit concern."

_He didn't seem any different today, do you think he's acting or something? He told you he's sorry, he told you he loves you, what else could he possibly do to prove himself?_

"I just….I can't deal with what Leah had to deal with."

_Jake is not Sam. I know this is a lot to think about, but part of loving someone is putting your faith in them. That's what you need to do here. You have got to put your faith in Jacob, otherwise, how will he ever believe that you love him?_

My little imaginary friend was right, and I felt horrible. I had doubted Jake , and by default I had failed him. I had to have faith in him. In us. Besides, as hard as this was on me, I couldn't even imagine how hard it was on him. He had said he was completely blindsided with it, which infuriated me. Why wouldn't Sam warn them? Why wouldn't _anyone_ warn them? He needed someone to be there for him, he needed support for this insane crazy thing that he was going through now. I know if it was me, I would need him more than ever. I stood up, resolved in my decision to stand by him, no matter what.

I pulled my hood up against the freezing rain that had started, and stumbled in the dark, back up the path that lead to the road, cursing myself for waiting too long to head back. As soon as I reached the road though, I was greeted with the sight of Jake propped up against his dad's truck. He smiled at me tentatively.

"I know you said you needed some alone time, but it's dark and sleeting, and-"

I cut him off with a kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he wrapped his around my waist. When we broke apart he looked at me.

"So…..you're ok?"

"I think so. I mean, it's a lot, and I know you know that. But all I really know is that I love you, and I trust you. Everything else, I think we can figure out later, right?" He grinned big and picked me up in a hug, spinning me around.

"You are so much better than I deserve!" He said smiling. I couldn't help but laugh at him. He set me back down, the same big grin on his face. "Come on, let's get you home."

Jake stayed the night with me that night, we had missed each other so much, and we weren't about to start spending any time apart now. We didn't talk about his situation anymore, I'm not sure what his reasoning was, but I just needed some 'us' time without anything else weighing us down. I still couldn't forget what he had put me through with being gone, but now that I knew the whole story, I knew he wasn't the one to blame, so it was one of those things that I was just going to have to let go.

I woke up the next morning with faded gray light coming through my window. I immediately wrapped an arm around Jake and snuggled up to his side. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me tighter.

"Morning babe." He mumbled sleepily. "Man it feels good to wake up next to you again." I giggled at him, also extremely happy to wake up with him once again.

"I know. Are you hungry?" His eyes actually opened when I mentioned food.

"Always." He said with a grin. I smiled and sat up to get out of bed, but he grabbed my arm and held me.

"Bella." His voice was much clearer and had lost all lightness, and his smile was gone from his face. "What the hell happened to your arms?" I gasped. I had forgot all about the ugly bruises Cullen had left on me from the other day, and it was too dark last night for them to be noticed. I looked down at them trying to think of an excuse, but they were very clearly handprints. I looked up at Jake, and his face was filled with the same rage I remembered from the previous afternoon.

"Jake, you gotta calm down babe."

"Don't tell me to calm down! What the hell happened? Wait….did Paul do this?" He jumped out of bed, grabbing his clothes. "I will kill that son of a bitch."

"Jake, stop!" I yelled. "It...it wasn't Paul!" He froze and looked at me. "If I tell you, you have to promise to not go off after him."

"Bella…" He said in a warning, taking a step toward me.

"I'm serious Jake, I already went to the cops about this, they're handling it, and he's gone and won't be back."

"Who." He simply stated. I closed my eyes and breathed out a shaky breath. I wasn't afraid for Cullen, I was more afraid of Jake doing something to get himself in trouble, but I also knew Jake wasn't gonna let this go.

"It was Cullen." I said quietly. And he was gone. I heard him rip through the front door, and turned to the window to see him running through the back yard into the forest, regardless of me screaming at him to stop.

I hurried and threw on my clothes and boots from the previous day, and took off after him. I knew he was faster than me, but I had to try. I just got him back, I couldn't have him going to jail now. I ran for nearly 30 minutes, winding up through the wooded hills, when I broke through to a small clearing. I decided he was probably long gone, and had just caught my breath when I heard someone behind me.

"Good afternoon Mrs Swan."

I jumped up and backed away immediately. The man was standing calmly by the tree I had been sitting against. He wasn't dressed for hiking at all. In fact, he wasn't really dressed for cold weather. Something was extremely off about him, and I could hear the voice in my head, screaming at me to run, but I couldn't seem to get my legs moving. I had ran too far and too fast, and they were too weak to take off this soon. I settled for stumbling backward, away from him.

"I was told you were tempting, but I had no idea how much. I obviously underestimated your allure."

What.

The.

Hell.

"Who are you and how do you know who I am."

"That is no matter to you. I was charged with your collection, and I don't plan on disappointing."

He started moving toward me, but much too fast to be normal. I stumbled back trying to keep space between us, but he was too fast, too fluid, and had me backed into a tree within seconds, his face much too close to mine, and now I could see his eyes weren't right either, they were blood red. His hand reached up and gently touched my throat, and I cringed away from it.

"I _didn't_ plan on disappointing at least, but sometimes things don't go exactly as we plan them, now do they, Mrs Swan."

I whimpered and shut my eyes against whatever was going to happen, but instead I heard a low but menacing growl close behind me.

_Hmm, let's see, death by bear, or torture by this deranged psychopath._

I felt the guy's hand move away and I opened my eyes and saw him looking behind me in complete terror. Out of my peripheral I saw two walls of fur on either side of me stalk out of the woods. A pushed myself even further back against the tree.

_Wolves._

Massive wolves. My head barely came up to their backs. Five of them came out from behind me stalking towards my predator, now their prey. But he was stopped by a much more fearsome growl from behind him. He whipped around to face a wolf that looked borderline rabid. He had a crazed look in his eyes, and I was surprised he hadn't already ripped into the man. Then the gears started slowly turning in my head, and I realized what, or more like _who_, these wolves were.

"No…..it can't be…...you were supposed to be extinct!" The man yelled, before blurring away, followed closely by the wolves. I slid down the tree slowly, trying to get my breathing and heart rate to slow to a normal pace. I closed my eyes trying to calm myself, and was nearly there, when I heard rustling from the other side of the meadow. I opened my eyes and froze. That wolf, the one who had looked so hell bent on killing, had come back. He wasn't growling, or even baring his teeth, and his face seemed much more relaxed. His head was dropped, but his eyes stayed on me.

_His eyes._

I knew those eyes. I had known those eyes for years. He may be some kind of mutant werewolf now, but no matter what, he would always be my Jacob. I stood up slowly, keeping my eyes on him. I still wasn't sure how to act around him, but he seemed extremely docile right now. He walked over to me and lightly nudged my hand with his nose. I gave him a half smile, not really knowing what to do. He took a few steps back, and then turned and disappeared into the wall of trees behind us. I stood there for a minute before deciding to head back.

"Wait." I heard his voice come from behind me. I turned to see him standing in the treeline. He walked out to me, stopping a couple feet from me. "What were you doing out here by yourself?"

"I...I came looking for you." I was still pretty shaken up.

"You have no idea how dangerous that…...that thing was. From now on, please don't ever, ever come out here by yourself."

"Who was that? And how did he know me?" He blew out a breath, and looked away angrily.

"I don't know how he knows you." And then he turned and looked at me with a dark smile. "But he won't be bothering you anymore."

"What do you mean?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Bella, he's our natural enemy. He is evil, and it is up to the wolves to protect everyone from his kind."

"His kind? I don't…...Jake I'm not following."

"I know." He huffed. "Let's just get you back home right now, there's still a lot we haven't talked about."

I was too shaken to argue. I just nodded and let him take my hand and he started walking us down from the way I came. My mind was bouncing around everywhere, trying to take in everything I had seen and been told in the past twelve hours. We seemed to get back to my house a lot faster than I thought we should have, but then again, I hadn't really been paying attention to where I was going. I felt Jake squeeze my hand as we broke through the treeline.

"You ok?"

"That's a pretty loaded question, don't you think?" I smirked.

"Well, I guess what I was trying to ask was, are you ok enough to make some food?" We both laughed, and I shoved him playfully. "What? I'm starving!"


	12. Chapter 12

In an attempt at normalcy, I called Angela later to see if she wanted to go up to Port Angeles to do some last minute Christmas shopping, which was really _all_ of my Christmas shopping. Between school and Jake, I hadn't had time to do anything. Jake was extremely hesitant for me to go off without him, and I could tell he was really struggling to keep from telling me not to go, but whatever it was that was going on, I told him I would be in public, always have Angela with me, and I would have my phone with me the whole time, which didn't appease him as much as I thought it would, but of course he knew he couldn't stop me.

On the way up,I filled Angela in, as much as I could, I just pretty much stuck with my original story that there had been some kind of tribal thing, but now it was over, and everything should be back to normal.

"And you're ok with this?"

"Well, I'm as ok as can be expected I guess. I mean, it's not like he was partying the whole time, I mean he was miserable the whole time too. And he was supposed to be gone for three weeks, but he told them he couldn't do it, and broke out of it early. So that helps calm me a little about the whole thing."

"Well you know I think Jacob is great, but I also love you, and I remember how broken you were. I also remember that you went through something pretty traumatic, and he wasn't there for you."

"It wasn't his fault though. I know it sounds like I'm some abused girlfriend making excuses, but you know me better than that."

"That's exactly why I want to make sure you're ok with this. I know you don't put up with crap usually, so I want to make sure that this isn't 'crap' that you're putting up with." I couldn't help but laugh at her.

"I promise. And I will admit, of course I'm still a little bitter about being left like that, but now that I know the whole story, now that I know exactly what happened, I know I can't blame him. I know who I _can_ blame though, but I haven't calmed down enough to speak with him." I said through gritted teeth.

"Obviously." Angela said with a smirk.

The rest of the car ride was kept much lighter, talking about holiday plans, and gifts she was getting, and what she thought Ben was going to get her.

The mall was absolutely ridiculous, of course. I'm not really sure what else I expected, the weekend before Christmas. We spent the next several hours pushing through crowds, avoiding stepping on children, and trying to get everything we needed. Mom didn't usually come home for Christmas, so that was one less gift I had to think about. This time of year she stayed busy visiting different countries, collecting pictures of the many different celebrations each nationality had. So I only had Jake, Billy, Rachel, Leah, Ben and Angela, although Angela was the easiest. Basically every year, we went out shopping together, and we picked out our own gifts, and just paid for each other. And because we were technically just buying our own gifts, we usually splurged. I ended up with a new pair of Docs, and Ange got a new Michael Kors bag. Rachel got perfume, Leah got a couple hoodies and some running pants, and Ben got a flannel shirt. We decided to separate to try and find something for our own boyfriends, agreeing to meet in an hour at the food court. I was heading toward one of the jewelry stores to look at watches, when I felt that same horrible feeling I had felt before, of being watched. I looked all around, but of course it was so crowded, there was no way I could have determined if someone was staring or not. I continued pushing myself through the crowd, when I saw a familiar face. Rosalie Hale was standing in front of the store I was headed for, and she seemed to be staring right at me. As I walked up to her, she gave me a small smile.

"Hey Bella."

"Hi Rosalie. Umm, I never got a chance to tell you, but thanks for helping me-"

"It's ok." She shrugged. "I'm just sorry you fell onto his radar." She looked honestly apologetic.

"Is he gone?" I asked, sounding more nervous than I really wanted to. I didn't like the look on her face. It was regret.

"I don't think so. But we are doing our best to keep an eye out for him." Just then the guy that I remembered having Edward by the throat that day walked up, and gave me a small smile.

"Hey Bella."

"Hi…...Emmett?" He grinned bigger.

"Yeah. You doin ok?" I tried smiling a little, but I think it still came out nervous.

"Well, I was until just now." I said with a small laugh, gesturing toward Rose. He gave her a hard look, but she just rolled her eyes.

"What do you want me to do, lie to her?" She turned back to me. "Listen Bella, I just want you to know, Edward hasn't always been like this. If he had, I would have ground him to dust, long ago." She growled. "But something has changed in him, and please believe me when I say, he's extremely dangerous. We've been able to keep him away so far, but we think he may be trying to get others to help him try to get to you."

Something in my head clicked, and suddenly I felt extremely dizzy. I vaguely heard Emmett say something, and they walked me over to a bench to sit down.

"Bella? Bella are you ok?" Emmett asked with concern.

"In the woods…..there was a guy…."

"What did he look like Bella?" Rosalie asked, crouched down in front of me.

"He….he was….different. His eyes, they were red. And he was fast. Too fast. He said he had been sent to get me. To collect me." I could feel myself start to shake. Rose sat next to me, wrapping an arm around me, rubbing my back.

"Bella, how did you get away from him?" Emmett asked slowly.

"The wolves." I answered without thinking. But instead of looking at me funny, they both exhaled in relief.

"Oh thank God." Emmett said. He looked back to Rose with a smirk. "Well that's one down!"

"Yeah, but who knows how many more are left." She grumbled.

"Wait a minute, you….you know about the wolves?" I still wanted to be careful how I phrased my words, these people could just be screwing with me. Rose just looked at me with a sad smile.

"Unfortunately, yes. But in this case, we are extremely glad they exist. Just, please, can you make me a promise? Please promise you will stay with at least one of them at all times? Other than Emmett and me, they are the only ones that can protect you from Edward."

"But, I went to the police, they are watching for him too."

"Bella," Emmett started. "Did you ever watch the Friday the 13th movies?" He asked thoughtfully.

"Of course." _And this was relative, how?_

"Ok, well you know how Jason was pretty much unkillable? Well, that's pretty much Edward."

"Umm, Emmett, that's a movie. I know how the human body works, and what it takes to stop it."

"Bella, you just said that man you saw this morning was different. Well so is Edward. There isn't much that can stop him, but the wolves can."

"Ok, but wait, if Edward is _different_ does that mean you guys are…." I looked up and they were both looking at each other with worried glances. I stiffened slightly, although I was given no reason to fear them, in fact I felt like I could trust them.

"Yes Bella." She said after a few seconds. "We are different, BUT, I promise you that we would never hurt you, or want to hurt you."

"Then why does Edward?" My question came out as whisper.

"It gets a little more complicated, but Jacob can tell you everything."

"Jacob? You mean he knows?" Suddenly I was furious that he had kept such important information from me.

"Yes, but don't be mad at him, he isn't supposed to tell you. He doesn't have the right to tell you, technically. But in this case, you definitely need to know, so we'll make sure an exception will be made." Rose said. I shook my head, absolutely nothing was making sense.

"I…...I don't know, I just can't think about this right now." I got up to walk away, but Emmett stepped in front of me.

"Can you just give Jacob a message for us?"

"Why can't you tell him yourself?" I said, a little more mean than I meant to be. Rosalie huffed, obviously losing patience with me.

"Fine then, forget it. Come on Emmett." She turned away from me.

"Wait, please." I turned and called. They stopped but didn't turn. "I'm sorry, I just…this has been a lot to absorb." I dropped my shoulders. "I mean, I just found out about Jake, I'm still having trouble with that, and now there's all this other stuff…." I could feel my eyes stinging. I felt Rosalie rub on my arm.

"I'm sorry too, I wasn't thinking about how it was affecting you." I nodded and rubbed at my face. I felt her stiffen, and looked up to see her and Emmett with furious looks on their faces.

"Rosie," Emmett said in a dark voice. "Why don't you take Bella and help her finish up her Christmas shopping?" I heard Rosalie whisper something quickly to Emmett, and he nodded, never breaking eye contact with whatever he was looking at. I turned in the direction he was looking, but only saw a sea of unrecognizable people. I let Rose lead me away. We walked in silence for a couple minutes before she visibly relaxed.

"You gonna tell me what that was about?" I asked, not really knowing if I really wanted to know.

"Nope." She answered quickly. "Now what else do you need to get?" I rolled my eyes but let it go for now. We found a jewelry store on the other side of the mall, and she helped me pick out a good watch for Jacob, one that not only looked good, but was military grade too. Rosalie advised he needed something that was as close to indestructible as possible.

"It seems a little weird that you know more about my boyfriend than I do." I said as we walked toward to food court.

"Nah, I don't know him, really, I just know _about_ him. Well, about all of them."

"You really can't tell me anymore?" I stopped walking and looked at her.

"I'm sorry, I really can't. And please don't think that me and Emmett, or even Jacob, are hiding anything from you. It's just….there are certain rules, that we all have to go by, and one of the biggest ones is telling people about us. But, because of who you are, and since you've been sucked into this against your will, I believe you have every right to know everything, but Jacob needs to be the one to tell you." I nodded silently, and we both turned to keep walking.

"Well, I guess I need to go meet Angela. Thanks for the talk."

"How about I tag along with you guys?" She said, a little too perky.

"You mean walk us around, make sure we get out of here ok?" I said suspiciously.

"Yeah, something like that." She narrowed her eyes at me.

"What happened back there?" I demanded.

"I will tell you later, I promise." She said quietly, and motioned to where Angela was waiting.

"Hey Ange! Look who I ran into." I tried to say as normal as possible. Her eyes bugged out when she saw Rosalie.

"Hi Rosalie. You doing some Christmas shopping too?"

"Yeah, Emmett's around here somewhere. He may have already taken the bags out to the car." I was just finishing up when I ran into Bella."

"Did you find everything you needed?" I asked Angela.

"Yep, I ended up finding a nice coat for Ben, what did you get for Jake?"

"A watch, although I don't know if he'll actually wear it, but outside of car parts, I don't ever know what to get him." I shrugged.

"Yeah, Jake's a pretty simple guy. Well, you ready to head back? Ben's been blowing up my phone waiting on me to get home."

"Yeah, let's go. Rosalie, you leaving too?" She gave me a small smirk.

"Yeah, Emmett's probably waiting on me in the car anyway. He hates stuff like this." We all laughed as we went out. Rosalie continued talking, but I could tell she was on alert.

"Well, Merry Christmas Rosalie!" Angela said as we got into the car. Rosalie stopped me before I got in.

"Are you going to your house after you drop her off?"

"Yeah, I'll probably go over to Jake's afterward, I just didn't want him to see what I got him."

"Alright. Well, we'll be sure to follow you, and we'll be around your house while you're there. But please be sure to tell Jake that you ran into us. I don't want him thinking we're trying to do anything behind his back."

"Ok." I nodded. "No problem."

"Ok, so when did you and Rosalie Hale become such good friends?" Angela asked once we got onto the highway. I glanced into my rearview and saw a familiar Jeep merge into traffic about 5 cars behind me.

"I ran into her at the jewelry store, and I stopped to thank her and Emmett for saving me last week. We just got to talking, and that was that."

"Did she said anything about you-know-who?"

"Yeah," I grimaced. "Apparently he isn't as 'gone' as we thought."

"Well, we definitely need to let the police know then!"

"Unless they specifically put a restraining order on him, then it doesn't matter where he is. He could camp out across the street and they couldn't do anything."

"Well I feel like we should be doing something." She huffed.

"Yeah, avoiding him as much as possible. But don't worry, Rosalie and Emmett said they've been trying to keep an eye on him when they can."

"What's with him? I mean, did they say why he's so crazy?"

"They said he hadn't always been like this, that something changed him. What I would like to know is why he's so fixated on me! I mean, I'm the last person to draw anyone's attention, what did I do to get his?" Angela just shook her head and stared out the windshield.

"I mean, the only thing I can think of is that I was his lab partner. Otherwise, he would have never known I exist."

"I knew there was a reason Bio was evil." She said in an intense voice, shaking her fist. We both started laughing, and moved on to much lighter conversation. After I dropped her off, I decided to call Jake.

"Are you on your way yet?" He asked as soon as he answered.

"Well, hello to you too!" I laughed.

"I didn't know you were gonna be gone all day!"

"Ugh, it was crazy crowded, and traffic was just as bad. What did you do today?"

"Ah, just hung out. Did you get all your shopping done?"

"Yup! That's why I gotta stop by the house first, I need to drop off the what I got, and then I'll pack a bag and be over."

"You've got stuff over here, I really don't want you going over there by yourself."

"Oh, I won't be-" I forgot I hadn't told him. "Umm, I ran into some friends from school, and they were gonna follow me home to make sure I got there safe. I haven't got a chance to talk to you about it, but when I had that run in with Cullen," I heard a low growl on the other end. "They are the ones who got me away from him." There was silence on the other end.

"What do you mean 'got you away from him'?" He said slowly.

"He...it's a long story, one that I would rather not relive right now, but anyway, his brother Emmett had him by the neck, and his cousin, Rosalie, got me out of the building. Anyway, I ran into them at the mall, and they said that Edward is actually _not_ gone, that they've been keeping an eye on him, and they said they've been trying to keep him away from me-"

"And you trust them?" He roared.

"Yes, Jacob, I do! Now shut up and listen. They said they think he's been getting people to help him get to me."

"Like the leech this morning…" He said thoughtfully.

"Exactly, like the, wait, the what?"

"Nothing, nothing. Ok, well, I don't care, I still don't trust them."

"Jake, I think you may want to talk to them."

"Like hell!"

"Jacob Black! Now you listen to me. Whatever the hell kind of voodoo, supernatural crap is going on here, for some crazy reason, I've got mixed up in this, so I get a say in this! Now you are going to talk to them! You don't have to be friends, but since you're both hunting the same person, or thing, it couldn't hurt to see what they have to say!" I had to admit, it felt good to scream and get some of that out of my system, although screaming at a volatile werewolf probably wasn't the smartest thing. I sat in silence for a minute before he answered.

"Fine. I'll meet you at your house." And he hung up the phone. I threw the phone down in the seat next to me. That was one thing I noticed about him now, he was so much more serious, and so much more stubborn. Then again, I had pretty much only seen him in stressful situations ever since he had changed. A few minutes later I pulled into the driveway, followed shortly by the jeep. As I got out of the car, I saw Jacob walking toward the driveway. Emmett stopped where he was.

"Bella, I think we're just gonna go ahead and leave." He said, staring at Jacob.

"No, please, it's ok. I called Jacob and asked him to meet us here. I figured you and him needed to talk. Maybe clarify some things." I got the rest of my bags out of the car, and headed toward the house. Emmett and Jacob just stood facing each other, arms crossed, with Rosalie standing about a foot behind Emmett.

"Talk!" I yelled before opening the door. I rolled my eyes as I stepped through the door, closing it behind me, and froze. Covering the foyer wall, from nearly floor to ceiling, were black and white 8x10 pictures put together in some sort of collage. I squinted and walked toward them slowly, but stopped with a gasp when I realized what they were pictures of.

It was me.

Maybe close to a hundred pictures of me, doing various everyday things. Cooking, studying, walking into school. There was one of me walking into the kitchen, and it looked like I was looking right at the camera. _The face. _All the vantage points seemed to be from a window, except for one, it was taken of Jake and I sleeping, and it was taken from above. From someone standing above us. In the same room. I started trembling, and suddenly couldn't get enough oxygen. I felt strong arms wrap around me and pull me backwards. I heard someone saying something but I couldn't register what the words were.

"BELLA!" Suddenly I was facing Jake. "Bella, baby, come back to me." I was shaking like I was cold, but I felt like I was burning hot.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." I managed to say before pushing past Jake and Rosalie to get outside, and somehow I made it to the railing before emptying my stomach into the yard. I fell back against the house and slid to the ground. Emmett was giving me a disgusted face, and the last thing I remember is flipping him the bird before I passed out.


	13. Chapter 13

**JPOV**

"Talk!" She yelled out at us before she went inside. I stared at the guy in front of me.

"So what do you want?" I asked simply.

"The same thing you do." The blond girl behind him answered. "We can't really talk about it here, there are too many chances someone will hear." I rolled my eyes.

"Then where are we supposed to talk?"

The blond girl stiffened and looked toward the house with wide eyes.

"Bella." She whispered, and took off, with me right on her heels. Bella was near to having a full panic attack. I turned her around to face me, trying to get her attention. I was screaming at her by the time her eyes focused on me. She mumbled something and pushed past me to the porch, and puked off the side. I was about to walk over to her when I heard the blond girl gasp. I turned and saw maybe a hundred pictures covering the wall, and they were all of Bella, but Bella obviously didn't know they had been taken of her. The one that hit me hard was the one of both of us, we were asleep in the living room, and it was taken as if someone was standing above us. It was before my change, but I couldn't tell when. I didn't even realize I was trembling until the blond leech started yelling at me.

"Jacob, get out of the house, now!" I just looked at her, continuing to growl. She started pushing me towards the door. "Get out Jacob!" And with a swift kick from her, I landed halfway down the yard, phased and ready to attack.

"Jacob STOP!" The male roared at me. "You need to help Bella!" With that thought, I stopped and I took several deep breaths, enough to calm down. I phased back, and carried Bella in and laid her on the couch. After finding some spare clothes for myself, I went back down to where Bella laid. She looked like she was sleeping, so I assumed she had just passed out from either fear, or just being so overwhelmed. I struggled with the need to take out anyone who could possibly be a threat, which included the two standing outside. I decided to try and get some information from them instead.

"Was that him?" Pointing inside once I got out on the porch.

"I don't know." The girl answered angrily. "It could have been him that took the pictures, but I don't recognize the smell, so he wasn't the one who was here." I suddenly felt slightly panicked.

"You mean, it wasn't Cullen?" They both shook their heads.

"No, we know him, his smell, and that isn't it." I clenched my fists.

"I've gotta get her to the Rez. That's the only place she can be safe." They both nodded. I refused to admit it, but I felt like I could trust them, even though it went against everything I believed in, that I had been taught.

"Jacob." The blonde whispered, almost too low for me to hear. "We need to talk, and I don't think we can here." I stiffened, trying to find a new scent, but all I could smell were the two leeches in front of me. I ran back into the house, wrapped Bella in an afghan and brought her back out. The guy opened the back door to her car, and I placed her gently inside.

"Is there someone within hearing range right now? I can't get a scent outside of the two of you."

They closed their eyes in concentration, then shook their heads.

"The far north line. 3 hours. Meet me there." I said as low as I could, knowing they would hear me. Driving back to the rez, I kept trying to figure out how I was going to explain this to the rest of the pack. They had to understand that when it came to Bella, I had to do whatever I could to keep her safe, even if that meant working with those two bloodsuckers. What was that one saying I had heard? My enemy's enemy is my friend? Well that was certainly true in this instance. I heard her moving around in the backseat.

"Ugh….Jake?"

"Yeah babe, I'm right here."

"Where are we going?" She sounded so groggy.

"We're going to the rez. Go back to sleep sweetie."

"How did I….what were we doing?" I watched her in the rearview mirror and could see the exact moment she remembered. Her eyes went wide and her chest shuddered, and I was scared she'd slip into another panic attack.

"Bella? Bella, it's ok. I'm taking you to the rez. No one can get to you there, ok?" She nodded, but I could tell she was still in shock.

"We….we need to call the police." She said in a small voice.

"Bella, the police can't do anything. This is…..out of their jurisdiction."

"What about Rosalie and Emmett? What did they say?"

"We didn't get a chance to talk."

"Jacob, why are you so stubborn?"

"Now just calm down, we are going to talk, we just didn't have a chance there. I needed to get you here, but we're meeting later."

"Where are we meeting them?" I snorted and she glared at me again.

"_WE_ aren't going anywhere. _YOU_ are going to the house and getting some rest. I'll meet them later."

"Jacob, that's not fair! I deserve to know-"

"And you will! I promise! But really, you need your rest. You've been through a lot, and I have a feeling it's gonna be awhile before things get back to normal." She grunted as I pulled into the driveway. I turned to face her. "What?"

"Normal." She smiled sadly. "Who would have ever thought I would be so far away from having a normal life, that I would give anything to have that life back again." My heart broke as I heard her words. I got out and pulled her out of the car, picked her up and carried her into my house, and laid her down on my bed. I sat down beside her, and pushed past the stabbing pain in my chest to say the next words.

"You know, you still can." I couldn't stand to look at her as I cooked on the words.

"I can still what?" She sniffed.

"You can still have a normal life." I clasped my hands in front of me, willing my voice to stay steady. "Once we finally get rid of this Cullen guy, you can go back to your normal life."

"Jake." She said in a strained whisper. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, you have a choice. You can choose to live a normal life. You don't have to-" I stopped at the sting that spread across my face, and looked up to see her cradling her hand from the slap I had earned, tears falling down her face as she looked at me in fury.

"How dare you! Maybe I was wrong and you aren't the same Jacob that I thought you were, maybe you did change." And she jumped up and ran out of my room. I sat there in shock for a minute before I registered that I needed to run after her. But by the time I got out the door, she was already pulling out of the driveway. I went to run after the car, but she turned to drive further into the rez, so as long as she wasn't leaving, I decided to give her some time to cool off. And for me to figure out what the hell I had actually done. I went ahead and phased, confident she was probably heading to Leah's and decided to bite the bullet and let the rest of the pack know what was going on. It was met with mixed opinions.

"_Are you fucking insane?"_

"_Jake, I don't know if it's such a good idea."_

"_I don't know, I think if it was me, I would do whatever I could to save her."_

"_You never know, they could be nothing like the others."_

"_Or this could be a trick to ambush us"_

"_They're only expecting one of us."_

"_Unless they know we'll back him up."_

"_Listen, if they wanted to hurt Bella or Jacob, they would have had plenty of opportunity away from the treaty line.'_

"_Exactly, to come that close to the line would be suicide if they tried anything."_

"_ENOUGH!"_

Sam's voice echoed through our heads.

"_Jacob, this is your call. This seems to be between you, them, and Bella. We'll come with you if you want, but you make this decision."_

I thought what the best strategy would be, worst case scenario.

"_Ok, we don't leave the rez completely unprotected. Paul, you and Jared stay here. The rest of us will spread out, staying just within hearing range of each other, but not close enough to where they would be able to tell there were more of us than just me."_

Luckily I was met with total agreement, which I definitely didn't expect. We started out for our posts and me to our agreed meeting place.

"_Oh, Jake, by the way, have you mentioned the imprint thing to her?"_

"_Please don't remind me. No, I haven't, and that's one conversation I am definitely not looking forward to having with her."_


End file.
